The Nose Knows
by intrajanelle
Summary: Collab between intrajanelle and ovp. Wally West is certain that girls should not be able to smell so good. So then why does Artemis' aroma send him into a dizzy spell? One answer: Her scent is poisonous and will be the death of him.
1. Chapter 1

_ovp A/N: This is so exciting! JustJanelle and I got together about a week ago and started writing this. I can not thank her enough for her constant support and amazing suggestions which led to the creation of this piece. We've both been diligently working on this story The Nose Knows and look forward to receiving your reviews and comments with bated breath. For me personally this is my first collab and I really look forward to working with JustJanelle in the future. So thank you in advance for reading this story and taking the time to review. I hope you like it as much we both enjoyed writing it. (Try to guess who wrote what.)_

_JustJanelle A/N: Hehehe, ovp's just being modest. She is such an amazing writer with such original ideas and I can't wait to do another collab with her, hopefully, sometime soon! This will be a two-shot so keep a lookout for part two sometime this week. Be sure to tell us what you think, this is my first collab as well so I'd looove some feedback. _

_Disclaimer: I don't know about ovp but I certainly don't own Young Justice. Okay, I don't think ovp does either but it was worth a shot! _

* * *

_The Nose Knows_

_Written by: ovp and justjanelle_

Chapter 1:

Wally West is fairly certain that girls should not be able to smell so good. They are only human and being only human they are prone to secreting sweat just as much as any other being in the universe; _especially _a girl whose part-time job involves running around as a masked vigilante most nights and days and weekends.

So Wally cannot fathom how Artemis Crock seems to have this sultry fragrance clinging to her skin. No matter how much she perspires or how long she's gone without a shower or how much mud has dried to her clothes and caked itself under her nails she always smells of fresh air. It's as if she's spent all day hiking and the subtle aromas of pine needles and fresh cut grass and tree sap have decided to embed themselves deep within her sweat glands so that even when she perspires the smell is nothing but alluring. And that, for Wally, is what totally sucks.

But it's not like it's Artemis herself that's alluring - no, Wally has convinced himself of this much. Her scent is like a pheromone, the kind that predators use when trying to lure their prey, and Wally will be damned if he lets himself become a casualty of her fatal deception. So he won't give her the satisfaction of asking her what shampoo she uses. Nope. He decides that he'll find it himself and devise an antidote to save the team from her wily, deceptive scent. No one is dying on his watch, least of all him.

Which is how Wally West ends up pacing the shampoo aisle of a local grocery store at almost ten o'clock at night with a bottle of Mountain Fresh Conditioner in one hand and Rugged Pine Needle in the other. The things Artemis Crock, the siren, makes him do sometimes, even unintentionally, can be considered diabolical.

But as he casually flicks open the top of Mountain Fresh and discreetly sniffs the contents of the bottle, trying not to look like a total creep in the _woman's _shampoo section, he is flummoxed by the plain fact that once again it is not her scent that assaults his nostrils. He frowns. How many possible products were scented pine forest?

"Maybe she just sprays herself with Febreze in the morning," he muses to himself, laughing at the image of Artemis holding the nozzle at arm's length and pushing down on the lever.

It is then that a rather startling thought occurs to him as he places the conditioner back on the shelf, quest unfulfilled. They live in different time zones. Heck, different parts of the country and he's run around America enough times to know that there is no such thing as uniformity. He can buy a fantastic burger in one state and go the same franchise in another and consider throwing the same product straight in the trash. So whatever she's using be it body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and possibly air freshener the substance in question may not even be sold in this state. Which is probably why he has no immunity to its dangerous proprieties. He is on the tip of an epidemic! So that cinches it, a road trip to Gotham City is definitely in order so he can find the source of his torment and neutralize it before it affects the populace on a national scale.

But before that adventure can begin he feels the familiar vibration in his pocket signaling that his mother is about to rain on his parade.

"Hello?"

"Wallace Rudolph West where are you!" she practically shouts. In desperation he hastily looks around the empty aisle. Why did he not think of a back up story? This is all Artemis's fault because all he's surrounded by is shampoo and conditioner and he can't think of a proper excuse and why do girls need this many hair products anyway? So he blurts out exactly what he's thinking instead of carefully considering the repercussions.

"The shampoo aisle."

There's a pause on the other end of the line as his mother clearly tries to assess his sanity and perhaps reminds herself that her son is not insane.

"At?" she asks tersely.

"Bill's Grocer."

"Isn't that on the other side of town?"

"I was looking for a very particular product."

"In the shampoo aisle?"

He's pretty sure his mother's shaking her head and rolling her eyes, a classic look of skepticism splayed on her face.

"Yes." He squeaks.

"Do I want to know?" comes the exasperated reply.

"It's for the good of humanity," he says, and there's a snort on the other end of the line.

"Just pick up some laundry detergent and come home **now**."

Wally shrugs jamming the phone back in his pocket. He saunters a few aisles over and his eyes widen. Now this opens a whole new arena of possibilities. Wally had yet to consider this about his Artemis conundrum: laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets crowd the shelves. It's an endless row of scented possibilities. Maybe her fatally attractive bouquet has nothing to do with her at all, maybe its in her clothes. Wally ambles down the aisle idly reading labels and trying to pinpoint something that may smell close to Montana pine forests or fresh cut, dew covered grass but neither scent seems to exist on the shelf.

"Can I help you sir?"

Wally spins to see a girl standing beside him. She's dressed in the starched white uniform that the staff at the grocery store are all required to wear and she appears particularly uncomfortable, pulling at the sleeves of her shirt as if it is a straight-jacket and not a polo. Her eyes shift from him to the ground nervously.

"Sure can, sweet cheeks," Wally says, plucking a bottle of Mountain Spring fabric softener off the shelf and shoving it under her nose, "tell me: does this smell like fresh air to you?"

"Uhhh- what?" she says, sniffing the bottle hesitantly, "I guess?"

Wally appears momentarily gleeful as he brings the bottle to his nose and takes a whiff of the stuff. His face falls instantly.

"Dammit," he says, placing the bottle back on the shelf, "not quite, that's too fresh. I'm looking for something a bit more..._subtle_."

"Sir?" the girl queries meekly, looking anywhere but at him.

"Yeah?" Wally says, scrutinizing the contents label of a case of detergent, "What is it babe?"

"We're closing - um, yeah. You have to leave."

"You're what?" Wally says, looking up at her with dazed eyes.

"Closing," she emphasizes, holding her iphone up to his face, "Actually we're closed. It's 10:05. We close at ten."

"Oh," Wally says, glancing at the bottles upon bottles of cleaning products. His mind feels fuzzy for some reason and he can't determine why he feels vaguely disappointed.

"Sorry," the girl says, stepping to the side as he skirts past her. He lumbers down the aisle and toward the doors without so much as a backwards glance. There's an awkward silence which the girl fills by calling, "We open at 6! Please come again."

Wally feels confused as he meanders outside and into the store parking lot. He runs back to his house and normally this would take him only a minute – or two tops, depending on the traffic – but he is halfway home when he realizes what he's done and as he does he stops running and stands stock still in the middle of an - thankfully empty - intersection, struck dumb by his revelation.

The girl in the detergent aisle had been a total babe. Okay, he thinks, was she a babe? He actually can't remember much about her. She had seemed pretty and cute and totally his type but he'd left her standing there without so much as a 'goodbye' let alone his number because she clearly had had the hots for the Wall-man.

It's Artemis, he surmises as he continues his lazy 200 mph jaunt, her scent is messing with his mind and he is far enough gone that he can't even _flirt_ properly anymore. This is serious.

He swings open the front door of his house with every intention of burying thoughts of archers and blonde hair and fresh cut grass under his comforter with the promise of sleep.

In the living room his mother is sitting with her feet propped on the ottoman. She looks up from her magazine, appraises him and frowns.

"Where's my laundry detergent?" she asks, placing _Parent's Weekly_ on her lap.

"Gah!" Wally says, dropping his head into his hands.

Artemis Crock is going to be the death of him, if his mother doesn't get to him first.

* * *

It's a few days later when Wally finally decides to put his plan into action. The road trip to Gotham to scope the area for the elusive scent had been a bust because Batman had the team running missions every other night that week and what little time Wally had to himself was spent either rushing through his homework or sleeping. So he hatches an even greater scheme. One that will save him time and money if he succeeds.

He is going to steal Artemis' shampoo.

Now, one might see this endeavour as less than commendable, perhaps even bordering on insane, however, Wally has an entire team to save from the toxic fumes that Artemis is emitting into the cave's air supply. So he's been watching her, for purely observational purposes of course, in order to memorize when she arrives in the cave after school, when she goes to training, when she showers (remember purely observational), and when she is in her room. It's only after a few days of watching her behavior closely that he feels comfortable enough to enter her room at four o'clock on a Thursday afternoon in order to commence operation _Steal The Siren's Scent._

He's memorized her schedule so well at this point that he knows she will drop by the cave around 3:15, change out of her school uniform and head to the training room for a workout that will last an average of an hour and thirty three minutes. Longer if Superboy is there without a shirt on and sparring with someone, but he's not at all bothered by this fact. Not one bit.

So once he is sure Artemis is preoccupied sparring with the Boy Wonder he slips inside of her bedroom, closing the door behind himself carefully. The lights are on and the room is sparsely decorated. Wally has never been inside it before, but he knows that Artemis never sleeps here. She always goes back home at the end of the night insisting that she'd rather sleep in her own bed. So naturally the only things in the room are her backpack, a selection of extra clothes and a whole arsenal of arrows, spread across the floor beside her desk. Unnaturally, and to Wally's infinite dismay, even though Artemis hardly spends any time in here it still smells like her.

If he closes his eyes Wally just knows he'll be envisioning a pine forest, tall trees sprouting in every direction, a layer of dried leaves from seasons past crumpled at his feet and tree sap bubbling from the cracks in tree bark. He can even make out the quiet tapping of a woodpecker hammering away but that could just be M'gann trying to learn how to use the Kitchen Aid mixer.

He shakes his head infinitesimally, the scent is cloaking his vision, making him feel light-headed and almost - dare he say - _happy_. But he can not let this deter him from his goal. He is on a mission. One that must - **will **be fulfilled because heaven help him if he can't devise a cure.

"Dear god," Wally mutters, stumbling toward the bathroom door on the other side of Artemis' bed, "Whatever is in this stuff is even more lethal than I previously imagined."

He manages to open the door and flick the light on before the scent overwhelms him. Whatever doubts he'd had that what he was smelling was her shampoo and not some kind of detergent or meta-toxin are eliminated the moment he steps through the threshold and enters her pristine bathroom.

The entire place reeks of her. No matter which way he turns his head he can't escape the scent. He dashes forward, clamping a hand over his nose in an attempt to block the deadly aroma from his senses. In her shower - and Wally has to resist enticing the thought that this is the place _Artemis showers_because, hey, he's just a teenage guy after all - he pulls the curtain back, revealing two clear label-less bottles filled with a foamy purple liquid.

So close, he thinks, reaching for the bottle, _I'm so close_.

His fingers wrap themselves around the brim of the shampoo and he brings it up to his

face, sniffing tentatively at the cap. This is it. It's the scent. He's found it. Einstein would be so proud.

He has to restrain himself from giving a 'whoop' of joy. He can't believe he's actually gotten away with-

"_What _are you doing in here?"

Wally freezes, the bottle falls from his hands and cracks against the tiles, purple liquid spills across the floor and the fragrance of fresh forest air wafts up to his nostrils.

"Are you deaf?" demands the voice.

Wally turns to see Artemis standing behind him. She is in the doorway with her hands on her hips, sweat slipping down her taught muscles as she glares at him. Her hair is down.

Wally has to give himself a moment to take in her appearance because he's actually never seen it down and it's sweaty at the moment, clinging to her forehead and her arms and her back and just about every inch of her body but it's _down_ and if Wally wasn't so terrified maybe he could appreciate it more. Maybe he would realize that a sweaty, angry Artemis is glistening under the harsh fluorescent lights in the bathroom and that her hair is shining and silky and pretty - yeah _real _pretty.

"Goddammit Wally!" Artemis shouts, noticing the puddle of purple shampoo spreading across the tiles, "Why are you even in here? Get me a towel why don't you? Make yourself useful."

Wally gulps speeding across the room in an attempt to grab a towel before Artemis throttles him, but what he fails to realize is that the purple substance - which he is silently mourning the loss of because now he has to steal a whole new bottle of her shampoo - has lubricated the floor and the combination of minimal traction and speed sends him careening into a shocked, sweaty and enraged girl.

When he finally manages to regain his breath and extract a wad of her hair from between his lips he realizes with startling clarity that he and Artemis are sprawled on the floor of her room and his body is pressing horribly close to hers in a way that is not at all comfortable.

Artemis is staring up at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously and her breathing heavy. Wally realizes with a jolt that he is completely engrossed in her dark grey irises and having her pressed so close against him is not helping matters at all.

"Get off," she grunts. A strangled sort of gurgle is all he can produce because his mind has stopped functioning entirely. "Kid Moron, move!" She pushes at him but he still doesn't budge.

"I, uh, your shampoo," he manages lamely as if all sins will be forgiven with that simple admission.

"My what?" she squawks shoving at him harder.

"Your shampoo," he flummoxes, "The smell."

If possible her glare intensifies and she thrashes more violently beneath him.

"Baywatch, I swear, if you did or are planning to do anything to my hair products you and I are going to have words and yours will be screams!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who smells fricking fantastic all the time!" he sputters. His mind is completely immobilized and his senses are overwhelmed. The scent of her and the proximity of their bodies - it's more than he should be expected to take, "I mean, jeez, what's that purple stuff made of anyway? And what kind of nefarious plot are you planning with your alluring aroma? I bet it's take-over-the-world level evil!"

She throws him an exasperated look shaking her head in disbelief, "Have you completely lost your mind? You snuck into my room to smell my shampoo? You are a whole other brand of freak, you know that? The kind we usually send to prison!"

He doesn't realize he's bearing down on her until he is pressing his body even closer to hers. He's staring into her eyes and he's fairly sure that her lips are still moving, but that hardly matters because his own eyes are slipping sh-

_What is he doing?_ His eyes dilate and he flies off Artemis falling backwards and straight into the purple pool of shampoo. Artemis slowly props herself up on her elbows looking at him carefully. Her muscles are clenched as if ready to spring into action if he pulls something else.

This is the part where he is supposed to say something - at least he's pretty sure he's supposed to say something - because she appears to be requiring an explanation before she deigns whether it's appropriate to kick his ass.

"Well..." he trails off licking his lips. He can feel an uncomfortable wetness seeping through the seat of his pants and he fidgets, praying that the shampoo doesn't stain his favorite pair of jeans _purple _of all the bloody colors. She quirks an eyebrow and he knows that _now _would be the appropriate time to respond, "I'm trying to save the world."

Her deadpan expression is enough to know he's said the wrong thing.

"In my bathroom," she states, barely containing the sarcasm in her tone, "It must be a relief to know that all of the world's problems can be solved by sneaking into **my bathroom**."

"_You're _the problem," he snaps tersely and once again it is the entirely wrong thing to say if the fact that she kicks him is any indication.

"Perfect," she stands, quickly barely casting him a cursory glance as she marches to retrieve a towel in order to clean up his mess. "Clean yourself up and get out!"

"Hey! I have a legitimate reason! I need a sample!"

"Wally I am about five seconds away from maiming you. Sample? Sample of what Kid Idiot!" she shouts. He still hasn't moved from the floor but he knows her anger is escalating quickly and he needs to think of a way to escape this situation alive. But he also needs her shampoo for the good of science, the fate of the world may be resting on his analysis. "_**Wally."**_

"Keep your shorts on I'm trying to find the right way to phrase this." He pushes his finger tips together scrunching his nose so he can concentrate, "Your smell..."

"My _smell_!" her voice goes up a couple octaves and he knows from experience it's dangerously close to full blown righteous fury.

"Yes, your scent, aroma, fragrance, bouquet, odor - what have you - is _dangerous_," he points at her sharply, "Stop interrupting so I can attempt to finish. It's intoxicating and dangerous and I'm pretty sure illegal. Yup, definitely illegal. So I'm here investigating the source in order to report back to my superiors."

"That's bull."

"That's the truth."

"Your _superiors?_"

"Okay, half truth. So just tell me where you bought it and I'll be out of your hair, no pun intended," he adds quickly standing up to back away from her. He really does not want to be in kicking range when she flips her lid.

She rubs her temples tiredly as if she is completely drained, "Let me see if I'm a hundred percent clear...you like the smell of my shampoo."

"No, it's a dangerous toxin and I have to devise a remedy before humanity succumbs to it."

"And after I eliminate all the nonsensical nonsense in that convoluted explanation the bottom line is: you like the smell of my shampoo."

"Were you even listening to my explanation? I didn't say that at all."

"I've translated it."

"Very liberally," he huffs before casting his glance upwards and meeting her eyes, "So where did you buy it?"

"I didn't."

"Huh?"

"I said I didn't buy it," Artemis says, rubbing her hands over her arms.

"And I heard you," Wally answers, "but if you didn't buy it where did you get it?"

"My mom makes it."

"Huh?"

"Jesus Christ Wally, I'll ask again, are you _deaf_?" Artemis snaps, before he can answer she drops to her knees and begins scrubbing the purple goop from the floor. He wracks his brain for some kind of witty response but before he can counter, Artemis is finished scrubbing and looks up at him exasperatedly, "My mom makes the shampoo. It's her special herbal mix. I can ask her…to…you know."

"I know what?" Wally asks, leaning down to her.

She appears to be particularly flustered, she folds the towel in on itself and tosses it in to a laundry bin without even looking at him, "If you like it so much," she says with a sigh, "I can ask her to make you some."

"Oh," Wally says, and because he's startled and he didn't expect this geniality from Artemis at all it takes him a minute to amalgamate his thoughts, "Yeah- yeah that'd be great. I'd like that Arty."

"Don't call me that," she snaps but this time the hardened expression melts from her face more easily. She looks up at him and points to the door, "I'll bring it after school tomorrow. Now get out of my bathroom. I need a shower."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am," Wally grins, dashing for the door, but he turns around before he leaves and Artemis is looking at him and her hair is down and he can't _resist_, "You should wear your hair down more often Arty. I bet its real pretty when it's, y'know, clean."

There's a moment of flustered silence before Wally zips from Artemis' room. And although she thinks he does, he doesn't miss the fleeting smile that graces her face.

* * *

_Please Review :3_


	2. Chapter 2

_ovp A/N: Smiles at JustJanelle. Well everyone here we have it the anticipated second half and it's...massive and I'm not quite sure how to describe it. I think you'll all be in for a lovely surprise. JustJanelle and I sure were when this came tumbling out of our minds. I can not thank everyone enough for reviewing, favoriting the story, and just being awesome all around. There's a long list of people to thank: My Own Mayday Parade, MuteBlue, WalkingInTheValleyOfShadow, Opaul, A2ID, YJ-Lover, Spitfiyah, fixati0ns, argent98, rogue42197, PikaGirl-AAML, Trylan Aire, thesilentboom, lala, anonjon, chaneldancegrl, Pulchritudinous Gal, NessaYay93, A-list Goddess, Ran, Irenerb, EvrAnge, IronicVeghead, and PerfectlyStrange. Whew! I never realized just how many people really like both JustJanelle's and my work until I hear such amazing things. Just WOW. Special shout out to anonjon (I think you'll know why after reading!) So please enjoy!_

_JustJanelle A/N: I think ovp pretty much covered it. Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers and I sincerely hope you like this second part. It's kind of huge so I'll let you guys get started but I just want to say thanks to ovp, without whom I wouldn't have been able to write this thing. I hope we do more collabs in the future. :3_

_Disclaimer: We don't own Young Justice._

* * *

Chapter 2:

Wally feels particularly restless at school the next day but it's not because he's yearning desperately to be back at the cave so that Artemis can give him her homemade shampoo and not even the dream he has, when he dozes off in AP Calcus, can convince him of this ridiculous notion.

It's a weird dream in which he is wandering through a forest and following a purple trail of shampoo. The trail is lined with signs that say things like 'Artemis: this way' and 'Harpy Straight Ahead' and he finds himself running through the trees, shouting Artemis's name and feeling incredibly anxious as the trail merely becomes longer and longer no matter how fast or far he runs. He is awoken by his Calc teacher slapping a ruler loudly against his desk and, thankfully, he gets away without a detention because he is a star pupil in Calc.

But even further speculation of the dream can't sway him toward the fact that he wants to see Artemis. He's a firm believer that he is restless because it's _school_ and he _hates it_ and therefore his overwhelming need to run towards Happy Harbour has nothing to do with Artemis at all.

Once the bell shrills three o'clock and his allotted eight hours of education are over, he sprints to the cave and is surprised when no one greets him at the entrance. In fact, he's shocked when he is met with nothing more then eerie silence.

Normally M'gann will fly over with a batch of whatever she had been concocting in the kitchen and have him try some first thing, sometimes Superboy will ask to spar, on rare occasions Kaldur will appeal for his specified knowledge on all things mechanical for help with one of his mission plans, Rob will request to play a round of video games and every day – every day without fail – Artemis will be waiting somewhere nearby with a taunting smile. But no one is there. The cave is quiet, too quiet.

Wally dashes to the kitchen but it's empty. M'gann had left in a rush though, the oven door is cracked open and a batch of burnt snickerdoodles are still smoking inside as if the Martian had realized the timer had gone off, rushed in the kitchen and cracked the oven without even bothering to take the cookies out. That wasn't like M'gann. She hadn't burnt anything in months. She was actually getting quite good at baking, heck, cooking in general, but then again he had heard Zatanna was helping her.

Wally looks at the items scattered across the counter and besides the obvious cooking supplies a dumbbell, one of Supey's, is sitting unattended and out of place in the middle. Wally looks closely and realizes that whoever had set it down had dropped it with such a force that it left a crack in the granite countertop.

"Guys?" Wally calls and is answered seconds later by a frantic M'gann.

"_Wally! Come quick_!" M'gann shouts in his mind, "_mission room_."

He's there in seconds and finds almost everybody hovering around the vid screen. Almost everybody but there are two rather startling empty spaces.

"Where's-"

"Wally, shhh!" M'gann says, gesturing to the screen, "Listen."

"No, guys where's-"

"Kid Flash," Kaldur says sternly, fixing Wally with a petrifying gaze, "Watch."

Wally promptly shuts up and reverts his eyes to the screen, on which a startlingly clear picture of the local news station is displayed. Behind the reporter, who stands to the side of the shot and is seemingly unruffled, is a brick school building. Or what _was_ a brick school building. Half of the ceiling appears to have caved in and from what he can gather it's not just a school but a gymnasium and a gym class had just been let out and there are students trapped under the mess of ceiling and huddling underneath some mangled bleachers.

Wally can understand the significance and gravity of the situation and that his friends want to help the kids but he can't for the life of him determine why they seem to be so frantic.

"Gu-" Wally begins to say but before he can even form a sentence in his head a banner springs to life at the bottom of the screen. It's pretty normal as far as banners go. It states the news station, the reporters name and under that in white bold letters is the name of the school.

Wally's breath hitches in his throat and he looks frantically at the others, suddenly understanding the absence of both Robin and Artemis. He sucks in a little air, trying to stop his mind from reeling before he practically shouts, "Gotham Academy. That's where Artemis and R- that's where Arty goes-"

Kaldur places a hand on his shoulder and whispers, "We know Wally and we're going to get her back."

"W-Why?" Wally stutters, "I mean, she's fine right? It's not like she was in the gym or anything ri-"

M'gann and Kaldur seem to be at a loss for words so Supey steps in, seeing as bluntness is his forte, and says, "They can't find her."

Wally's breath snags painfully and all of sudden it's extremely uncomfortable to breathe as his teammates place comforting hands on different parts of his anatomy. But Wally really can't stand being coddled when he could be doing something - they all could be doing something.

"What are we standing around for?" he snaps pushing out of the awkward group hug that has been created, "Why aren't we doing anything?"

"We must receive permission from Batman before we can proceed," states Kaldur gravely.

"Are you kidding me?" Wally half yells, "Our teammate is buried alive and we're standing around waiting for Batman! Since when do we listen to Batman?"

The team members look at each other, biting their lips nervously,

"Wally," murmurs M'gann, "It is **his** city and it's usually, well, it's usually Robin who initiates our protocol disobedience. So we thought we'd wait for him."

Wally wants to tell them. For twenty agonizing seconds he flounders on the borderline between secret identity and friendship because Dick is his friend but Dick may also be in desperate need of his - their help. His eyes stray to the screen again and he swallows thickly not quite believing this is actually happening.

"Forget Robin," he sighs, "Look he's probably with Batman doing the dynamic duo thing. I say we go and find Artemis."

Everyone turns to look at each other and there are nods all around.

"Yes," says Kaldur, "Let us go."

The bioship is called almost instantaneously by M'gann who hastily ushers the team inside because now that they're going her thoughts are running a mile a minute flitting through all of their minds without abandon.

It's the longest twenty minute flight of Wally's life and the entire trip he is convinced he could run there faster, it's not like M'gann has to deal with traffic so why is she going so slow? But in those twenty minutes he's also trying to convince himself that he is solely concerned for the well being of the little bird and maybe Artemis - just a little, because she did promise to give him that shampoo - but she's not the major concern in his mind. She's not. His thoughts stray back to that peculiar dream but it means nothing. _Nothing_. It is not an ominous sign because he doesn't believe in such nonsense. They will find Artemis, probably complaining they took way too bloody long to get their asses there, and she'll hit him as usual when he says something slightly perverted. She has to because there's no way she's not okay. Nope, no way.

When they finally arrive Wally bolts from the bioship ignoring Kaldur's and M'gann's calls to return but he doesn't get far before the wreckage completely impedes his ability to navigate toward the disaster zone. So he's practically trotting to what remains of the gym arriving with little to no gusto and he is shocked into silence at the carnage. There is debris everywhere. Since he saw the image at the cave the unstable roof has caved in further, steel beams jutting out at obscure angles. There's a crowd of civilians huddled on the other side of gym, held back by police tape and a platoon of officers who seem to be having a difficult time controlling the growing amount of spectators.

"Kid Flash," Kaldur says and Wally turns to see Kal, M'gann and Supey bearing down on him. "Stay with the team. We need to be cautious here, we're supposed to be a covert operations group."

"Look! Aqualad!"

"And Kid Flash!"

Wally turns to see what seems to be an army of reporters stampeding towards them. He rolls his eyes.

"So much for covert," he mutters. "We don't have _time _for this."

"Are you here to assist Batman with the cave in? Tell us, are you four a team?" one reporter shouts, shoving a microphone under Kaldur's nose.

"Uh- well- uh-" Kaldur stutters. It's perhaps the first time in his life that Wally has seen Kaldur so unsure and it probably has something to do with Batman's orders to remain covert and out of the limelight. Wally has a feeling that giving an interview to a swarm of television reporters is not covert in the least.

"We're here to help," Superboy says bluntly, shoving the microphone away from Kaldur's face, "let us do our job."

Wally is thankful that Supey at least is intimidating, the reporters leave after that with only a few murmured questions and Superboy's responding glare is enough to satisfy their curiosity.

"Wa- Kid Flash!" a familiar voice calls, and Wally spins to see a young boy shoving his way through the reporters. The boy is slight and young and dressed in a Gotham Academy uniform. His hair is slicked back and his blue eyes are wide as they stare at him.

The others may not recognize the boy without his red and black kevlar and domino mask but Wally's heart swells because Dick is _okay_. He's dressed like a geek and he's sweaty as hell but he's _okay_.

"Sorry kid, we don't have time to answer any-" Superboy begins to bark but before he can finish Dick is standing in front of them, waving his hands in the air.

"Art- I mean, there's a girl trapped inside the gym!" he shouts.

"Yes, this is why we are here," Kaldur says, "Superboy patrol the perimeter, look for any potential openings-"

"_No_!" Dick shouts, and now he has the whole team staring at him, "she was- we were- we have gym together. We were leaving when the ceiling fell and she pushed me out of the way. She's trapped under a ton of debris!"

"Do not worry, we are here to help everyone. We shall find her," Kaldur assures the boy, nodding his head resolutely.

Wally can't find it in himself to nod reassuringly with the others, however, because he knows exactly what Dick is saying. He's not upset about just any girl trapped in the gym. He's upset because of who that girl is.

"Um- What's her name?" Wally asks, and suddenly the others freeze, Superboy stops himself from jumping toward the rubble and stares down at the boy.

"Artemis, her name's Artemis Crock," Dick says and his voice is cracking and his hands are shaking and Wally wants nothing more than to assure Dick that they're going to find her, but first he has to calm himself.

"_Kid Flash let us proceed," _Kaldur's voice commands, echoing shakily through their connected minds, as he gestures towards the building. "_M'gann do you sense her?"_

"_No," _comes the faint reply but her voice perks up quickly, "_I sense Robin though. Should I link him up?" _

Wally really wants to roll his eyes and he is about to cast Dick a withering look when he realizes the spot his friend was previously occupying is empty. _Right _it's the ninja thing.

"_Please do. We could use all the help we can receive. Perhaps he may shed some light onto what has occurred today."_ Kaldur says and M'gann nods, pushing her fingers to her temples.

"_Guys! Artemis is under there."_ Robin shouts, practically the instant his mind is connected to theirs.

"_We know," _snaps Superboy, _"Some little preppy preschooler told us."_

"_Preschooler! Gotham Academy starts at Grade 9."_

"_Looked like a preschooler to me."_

Robin's exasperated voice seeps across the link, _"Okay fine, whatever. You guys have to get Artemis out." _

Wally would have laughed at Superboy unknowingly insulting Dick if his stomach wasn't already clenching with dread.

"_That is what we are trying to do. When will you arrive my friend?" _Kaldur asks calmly, always the voice of reason.

"_Can't, Bats relegated me to crowd control."_

"_Look," _barks Wally, _"Let's cut the chit chat and find Arty."_

* * *

Artemis groans.

Her eyes flicker open and she surveys the chaos around her. _Well this is peachy. _She's not quite sure which way is up or down as she realizes she's lying face down on piece of ceiling which is slanted at a precarious 60 degree angle. It's dark and dusty and extremely uncomfortable because the only thing that's stopping her from sliding down into the sketchy darkness is a chunk of mangled wood and metal which might have once belonged to the bleachers. She hadn't even been _near _the bleachers. But her daring acrobatics as she had dodged flying projectiles of gym ceiling in an attempt to get to an exit must have propelled her here somehow. Pushing those bystanders out of the way completely must have sent sent her off course. Besides how many times does a school gymnasium have to blow up in a year? Honestly, and her mother thought this school was safer than Gotham North.

Inhaling deeply Artemis coughs and then curses. Over on her left she sees Wally's "sample" skewered by a piece of glass which had pinned it to what might have been part of the floor, who knows. The purple liquid is seeping down into the black unknown. Well that's just another horrible thing to chalk up to today. Karma has so screwed her over.  
It really wasn't fair. The minute she had asked her mother to make the extra bottle of shampoo she'd been assaulted with a lot of unnecessary (and unwanted) questions about why. Her mother took gleeful pleasure in needling her until she finally caved and explained that it was for Kid Moron, who apparently thought it was some sort of hallucinogen or poison and needed to _test _it. Which was an even worse decision on her part because her mother had promptly ordered her to invite her _boyfriend _over for dinner. To which she had replied that an ice cube had a better chance in hell than Wally West had of dating her - let alone being in her presence outside of their extra curricular activities. Her mother had merely smiled at her and made the "extra special" bottle while pressuring her for details. Not that there were any to give.

Unfortunately, while she was changing in the locker room for gym, which she had to take with that annoying freshman Richard Grayson who would not leave her alone, one of the pretentious, rich, stuck up princesses from her year had spotted the bottle, plucked it from her bag and unceremoniously began tossing it between her friends. Artemis had really wanted to punch them but instead she managed to snatch the bottle back in the middle of one of their throws and had promptly stuffed it in the pocket of her basketball shorts yelling at them to piss off. Yet somehow in the the midst of the chaos the bottle had flown from her pocket and gotten lodged in the wall.

She scrunches her nose. God, Wally will probably accuse her of breaking it on purpose or something equally stupid. She can't even understand why she offered to give him a bottle. It makes no sense - but half the time Wally doesn't make sense. Although entering her bathroom without her permission was bordering on Arkham-style creepy. Shaking her head she realizes she has to get out of here, reaching across attempting to retrieve the shampoo she swears violently when whatever she is leaning against shifts and there is a sickening groan. The debris is still unstable. _Fucking fantastic._

* * *

"_I've found an entrance_," Superboy announces over the link.

The rest of the team had been assigned to assisting the sick and wounded and Wally is grateful that Superboy has finally contacted them. He isn't on his best game when he knows that Artemis is inside the gym trapped under a ton of rubble while he is outside helping an elderly teacher to an ambulance - but who would be?  
Wally is the first to the coordinates Superboy gives them - naturally, due to his superspeed - and the smile that had begun to form on his face falls the instant he comes to stand next to his friend.

"I thought you said you found an _entrance_," Wally groans, staring at the three by four hole in the side of the gymnasium that Supey is standing beside, "_You_ couldn't even fit through there."

"Hey, it's the best we've got," Superboy growls, gesturing to the hole, "the entire building's unstable, I can't risk making the hole any bigger and I can't jump inside and risk the rest of the ceiling collapsing. We'll have to deal with it or would you rather see Artemis crushed?"

Wally bristles, "Of course I don't but I don't exactly have Super-strength. If only me and M'gann can fit through there how are we supposed to-"

"Telekinesis."

"Oh, okay, that works," Wally says, speeding up to the entrance and sliding into the hole.

"Kid, wait!" Superboy says, dashing after him. But he's not as fast as Wally or as small and he ends up sticking his head in the hole and glaring. Wally looks back at him from where he is sliding through the debris.

"Tell Miss M to meet me inside!" Wally calls and before Supey can stop him he has crawled out of sight.

* * *

Artemis spins so that she's lying on her back. She can feel the rubble around her cracking and swaying as if it might truly squish her if she moves any further. She's scared to so much as breathe but she forces herself to inch her way up on the bit of ceiling she's lying against. The instant she slides her right leg and uses it to push herself upward, a bit of plaster crumbles and falls, sending a piece of what was a bleacher slamming into her foot clamping it at a horribly uncomfortable, unnatural angle.  
She bites back a scream and looks down at her now trapped appendage but before she can mourn her most likely sprained ankle she hears a faint cry. She looks up and around herself, searching for the sound. She hears it again.

* * *

Eventually, after several minutes of fighting his way through debris Wally sees a light - literally not figuratively. He fumbles, pushing past mounds of ceiling plaster and broken metal rods before he finally finds himself in the center of the gymnasium. He can stand here and assess the damage, and it's bad.

What he assumes was once the ceiling has almost completely caved in, only a quarter of it remains but it's still crumbling even as he watches it. What has caved in is scattered across the floor, covering the bleachers and the exits.

"Wally."

Wally jumps and looks to see Miss Martian floating behind him.

"How did you-"

"I flew in," she says, "I could have taken Superboy and Kaldur with me but they're busy. Listen, Wally, Artemis isn't the only one trapped in-"

Normally, Wally wouldn't have ignored M'gann for the world. He was always looking to please the Martian and ignorance was not something she particularly enjoyed so he'd usually listen to whatever she had say with rapt attention.

But he smells something.

Not just any something. He smells _it_, that infuriating shampoo, the source of all of his stress these past few weeks. Despite the dust and debris wafting in the air he can still smell fresh forest air, pine needles and tree sap.

Wally takes a deep breath in through his nostrils.

"Wally?" M'gann queries, watching him worriedly, "Did you hear what I-"

"Do you smell that?" Wally asks, cutting her off.

M'gann frowns and sniffs the air tentatively, "What, the dust?"

"No, a forest, like pine needles and stuff. You _can _smell it right?" Wally asks, but he isn't looking at her. He is on his hands and knees already, searching the ground for any sign of something purple or blonde.

"Wally, are you-"

"Artemis? Artemis!" Wally shouts, pushing a section of plaster out of his way, "Art-"

He stops in his tracks and stares. There at his feet is a trail of pooling purple shampoo. He feels a few drops fall on his head but he ignores them. He stoops over it and dips his fingers in, not hesitating to take a whiff. This is it.

"M'gann! M'gann I've found her!" Wally shouts excitedly.

"Where?" M'gann says, coming up behind him, skeptically.

"There, that's her shampoo!"

"Wally..."

"I'm not crazy, just lift the plaster here," he says, pointing to the section from which the shampoo is seeping.

M'gann does so and raises her hands, the plaster moves in sync with her cues, rising from the floor. She sets it aside and peers up to where Wally is staring. All they can see, besides more plaster and wreckage is a single sneaker-clad foot.

"Try linking her up now!" he exclaims, his heart beating erratically as M'gann's eyes glow ethereal green.

"_Guys?" _a voice murmurs across their minds.

"_Arty you're ok!"_

"_Baywatch? Great. Now I'm really doomed."_

"_Please. Is that any way to thank your saviour?" _he smirks, relief washing over him. Clearly Artemis is fine if she's still able to insult him.

"_Last I checked I was still trapped, but sure, keep calling yourself a hero."_

"_Well," _thinks M'gann with relief, her eyes swelling with unshed tears, _"He was the one who found your shampoo."_

"_My shampoo? Wait... are you guys beneath me?"_

"_Yeah..." _Wally squints up at the shoe wondering how he can dislodge her without being flattened like a pancake when the entire place caves in. It does not look promising. He can't see a way up to her and the entire place is groaning ominously. It's a proverbial house of cards and Artemis appears to be at the precipice.

"_You have to leave me."_

"_I'm sorry, that is not how search and rescues work."_

"_No, Kid you __**have **__to. There are students trapped beneath me - under whatever is left of the bleachers. If I move they're toast. I'm literally laying on their salvation." _

He can almost see her roll her eyes as she ends that sentence.

"_No," _he curtly responds still staring up at the shoe. _"No."_

"_Wally," _whispers M'gann, _"She's right. We can't pick and choose who we rescue. Artemis will be -" _She can't finish the sentence because she doesn't has no idea what will happen to Artemis if they leave her like this.

He shakes his head. He's frustrated and angry - but mostly pissed off. What. The. Hell. He finally finds Artemis and now he has to leave her so that her butt can proverbially save the lives of some preppy, stuck up rich kids who probably won't even appreciate it. He can feel M'gann tugging on his arm so that they can find another path beneath the bleachers.

"_You won't lose her?" _he asks, _"We'll stay linked up, right?" _

M'gann sends him an annoyed look but it softens slightly when she sees the panic on his face.

"_Trust me, Kid Dolt. I'm not going anywhere. Promise." _Artemis' voice wafts through his mind.

"_Please I'm not worried about you," _he scoffs, _"I just want to know when the ceiling's about to come crashing down on my head."_

So Wally and M'gann are back to crawling through debris and trying to make a tunnel underneath the bleachers which sounds a lot easier than it actually is because Wally feels like he's trapped in an elaborate, deadly game of Jenga every time he and M'gann have to move another piece of metal or plaster out of the way. But he can hear the voices now so at least it will be over soon and they'll get Artemis and go back to cave.

He can still smell her though. Now that he knows she's here her scent has completely overwhelmed his senses and he can hardly concentrate by the time they finally do manage to crawl through into the alcove beneath the bleachers to find three dirty girls huddled together.

"It's Kid Flash!" One of the girls shrieks hurling herself at him so that he falls backwards. Another scrunches her nose looking behind him at M'gann.

"Who's the green freak? Some sort of Manhunter impersonator?"

Disentangling himself from the gushing girl he glowers, "No. Come on. We have to get out of here."

"_Smooth Wallman," _interrupts Artemis, _"All heroic in front of the opposite sex and all you can manage are monosyllabic answers."_

"_Hey! I am perfectly capable of charming the socks off these beauties, but I've got priorities."_

"_Sure, sure." _

He inhales deeply counting to ten because he really does not want to be mentally fighting with Artemis when everyone can hear him and he's crawling through who-knows-what to lead the survivors to safety. He spares a glance to the hollow which leads towards Artemis and his senses are assaulted with her scent - even though he seems to be the only one able to distinguish it in the chaos - it's making him lightheaded but his heart heavy because it's not her behind him scuttling to safety. He is also acutely aware that one of the infuriating girls has pinched his derriere.

"_God, can't you do anything about your damned shampoo?"_

"_What?"_

"_Look, it's messing with my mind. I can't even appreciate that one of these fine ladies is flirting with me."_

"_More like manhandling you." _

He hears M'gann snicker as she flanks the group when they finally emerge back into the remnants of the gym.

"Ugh," mutters one of the girls, a plain black haired lass, "I can't believe daddy pays for me to go to this dump." The other two girls nod sagely and Wally has to resist the urge to smack his head into his palm.

"Kid Flash," M'gann says aloud, catching Wally's attention, "lead the girls outside the way you came in."

"What?" Wally splutters, throwing his arms in to the air, "I'm not leaving you! Especially not-"

But he finds that he can't quite finish that sentence, not with these preppy Gotham Academy girls behind him, not with the entire team linked to his thoughts and he ends up standing there blushing while M'gann frowns at him.

"Listen, Kid, I'm going to stay here and look for any other - _survivors_," M'gann says softly, placing a hand on his his shoulder, "You get these girls out of here."

"_I'll take care of Artemis_," M'gann whispers telepathically, "_but the buildings unstable, we can't risk injuring civilians_."

"Yeah, Kid Flash," one of the girls says, looping her arm around Wally's limp elbow, "please lead us to safety. We'd be so _lost _without you."

"Fine," Wally says, pulling his arm free, "follow me."

"_You alright Baywatch?" _Artemis asks as his mind roils in fear.

"_Fine,"_ he snaps, "_just don't get crushed, you still owe me that shampoo."_

Artemis chuckles and Wally feels almost better about leaving her - but the prospect of turning his back on Artemis, leaving her alone and trapped under a ton of debris still doesn't sit well with him. He gives one last fleeting glance to M'gann and then turns away, the girls following after him obediently.

Wally finds the entire business of leading the preppy academy girls through the hole harrowing - to say the least. They complain and grumble about every speck of dust that so much as touches their gym shorts. One girl's hair snags on a bleacher and Wally disentangles it, ushering her along after him.

"My hero," the girl fawns, and it must be Artemis' shampoo still lingering in the back of his mind that forces him not to flirt back with this 'attractive' girl - although he's not quite sure if the term actually applies when her personality sucks.

He's helping the last girl jump down from the hole and onto the pavement outside the gymnasium when he finally calls to M'gann, "_Alright they're all out_."

"_Thanks Wally,"_ M'gann responds, before she goes to work telekinetically freeing Artemis from the debris.

"Ugh," one of the academy girls groans, glancing down at her chipped nails, "these cost me half my allowance. This is all Crock's fault."

"What?" Wally says, staring down at her, his voice growing cold.

"Oh if you hadn't saved us, we would've been trapped forever! Thank you!" another girl says, wrapping her arms around Wally's torso before her friend responds, "Yeah, this girl in our gym class, Artemis Crock, was bugging us with her stupid shampoo. That's how we got trapped under the bleachers. She pushed us. Must of thought the roof was going to crush us or something. As if. We're popular."

"She- you- _what_?" Wally says, practically shoving the girl who had glomped him to the ground. He's fairly certain that he's never felt this mad before - and especially not towards a girl of all creatures. "_She saved your lives_."

"More like trapped us, the little charity case should know her place," the same girl scoffs.

Wally almost punches her. He is - in fact - moments away from pulling his arm back and slugging her right in the face. The only two things that stop him are the mere fact that she's a girl - he can't beat up a girl unless she's a supervillain like Cheshire or Poison Ivy - and that the instant he feels angry enough that he might actually punch her in the face the building behind them groans. Suddenly there's a huge dust cloud that fills the air, impeding his view.

Before he can comprehend what's happening or even attempt to get the girls further away from the building he feels himself being lifted in to the air. A moment later he is placed back on his feet and thanking Kaldur for the save. A few feet away Superboy is awkwardly carrying all three girls in his arms.

"Hel-_lo_," one of the girls says, cuddling up against him.

Supey merely rolls his eyes and drops the girls unceremoniously onto the sidewalk.

Wally looks over at the building, eyes wide as he assesses the damage. But there's nothing more to assess, really. The building is gone. The rest of the roof has caved in and all he can make out, besides the obvious dust cloud, is a pile of rubble where the gymnasium had once stood.

"Kid," Superboy chokes, staring at the chaos, "_Where's M'gann_?"

Wally just gapes mutely at the building, his mouth practically unhinged.

_"Arty?" _he croaks hopefully, _"Harpy? __**Artemis!**_"

The silence is not the answer he wanted. In fact the silence is the last answer he wanted. Not again. That thought whispers through his mind with startling clarity. _Again. _It's happened again. Beside him Superboy is shifting, stepping toward the building then away just as quickly as if confused about what to do. He looks helplessly at Kaldur. The shock of what he's just witnessed appears to have rendered him rageless.

_"We..." _Kaldur is looking forlornly at the wreckage, his eyes tight, _"We should regroup...and..." _But then his eyes widen and he realizes what he's doing. He's using the link, a link that would be down if - There's a massive rumble and rubble is blown away from the left side of the disaster zone. The dust clears to reveal a triumphant Miss Martian hovering over the form of the archer and Wally is not entirely sure how he zips across the mess so fast, but all of a sudden Artemis is in his lap and his arm is slung around her shoulders and his nose is buried in her hair.

Artemis is wearing what might be called a look of abject horror as she tries to weasel her way out of Wally's hold. He does not relent his grip on her though, even after she pinches his cheek. Only when he's satisfied that Artemis still smells alive - because what other girl can smell like pine forests and sunshine when she's been buried in plaster, dirt, and metal for hours - does he release his vice like grip so she can scramble away from him. Fortunately she does so just in time for the three girls Wally had saved to come sauntering towards her.

"Hey! Charity case!" yells the black haired one coming to stand in front of Artemis with her hands on her hips, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Yeah, Crock," sneered another, "I'll see you expelled for this. Wayne Scholarship or not you can't just push us around. We own this place."

"And you," one of the girls that had been shamelessly flirting with Wally rounds on him, "You'd choose poor over fabulous? You're dumber than you look."

By now most of the team has recovered and M'gann is safely tucked in the crook of Superboy's arm and pretty much the entire group is glowering at the trio with rising animosity. Artemis says nothing, merely staring the girls down with fierce, fiery eyes.

"Can't you speak?" jibes one of the girls, "Or are you just too stupid?"

Wally has drawn his arm back and is about 0.5 milliseconds away from knocking the girl into next week when Superboy - who has no qualms about anything - plucks the three girls from the ground storms over to the yellow police tape and dumps them uncaring on the other side. Wally can hear their indignant cries as Superboy returns to the group, awkwardly patting Artemis on the back before returning to the Martian's side.

Kaldur takes this opportunity to clear his throat, "I am glad you are unharmed, Artemis."

"Well not entirely," Artemis admits.

Wally whirls around to get a closer look at her. Harmed? Where? If the building wasn't in ruins he'd be putting it in ruins for thinking it could mess with Artemis and get away unscathed.

"Well," Wally says evenly, successfully hiding his emotions behind a suspiciously calm tone, "Where are you hurt?"

She rolls her eyes, "My ankle Kid Moron. It was jammed between metal and plaster remember?"

He looks down and realizes that her ankle is in fact an unhealthy shade of purple, blue, and yellow and that she's standing gingerly with most of her weight bearing on her good foot.

He wants to scoop her in his arms to relieve the pressure she is undoubtedly forcing on her sprained appendage but he stops himself. He knows that Artemis won't appreciate being held, especially not in front of her entire school, the majority of which are already sending curious gazes their way. He thinks he even spots Dick at the edge of the crowd, waving over to them and smirking possibly cackling but who can tell, but when he turns back for a second look his friend is gone.

Wally sighs and walks over to Artemis, closing the gap that she had created between them when she had scrambled away from his grasp.

"You're not gonna sniff my hair again are you?" she asks warily as she watches him.

"Shut up," he growls, looping an arm around her waist and simultaneously easing her weight off her ankle. "Kal, I'm taking her to the cave."

"What? You can't do that Baywatch I'm in the middle of-"

"I believe Kid is right, Artemis. We will take care of your teachers. It would make us all feel better if you were treated at Mount Justice," Kaldur says, placing a hand on her shoulder before turning to Wally, "Take her straight to the med bay."

"Will do," Wally says, and before she can protest any further he's jettisoned them both in the direction of Happy Harbor, faster than any curious eyes of Gotham Academy can perceive.

* * *

It's several hours later, once Black Canary has wrapped Artemis' ankle in gauze, given her a heap of pain medication and forbidden her from walking much that Wally finally musters up the courage to look in on her.

She's propped on the couch watching the No Signal channel on the TV only because Superboy had insisted that watching it would make her feel better. There's a stack of cookies on the coffee table from M'gann and a heap of comics on the cushion beside her, courtesy of Robin and laid across her eyes is a water mask that Kaldur had assured her would ease the pain in her head.

She looks more relaxed now than just after he'd deposited her in the med bay earlier. She'd been flustered then and in pain and once the team had arrived, fussing over her like a bunch of worried mother hens he'd found it quite hard to find something to say that wouldn't make her want to strangle him. So he'd waited and waited and waited and only after what seemed like an eternity of waiting was he ready to approach her.

"Ahem," he says, leaning over the back of the couch.

She doesn't stir, the only thing about her that moves are her fingers which twitch and then go still, settling across her stomach.

He has to admit to himself that she looks quite peaceful like this, with her hair all undone and falling over her shoulders and a calm – not necessarily happy but not mad – look resting across her features.

"A-_hem_," he enunciates and for another moment he thinks that she is simply ignoring him. He leans across the couch and lifts the mask from her eyes carefully.

Underneath her eyes are closed gently- she is asleep.

"Oh," Wally says, it's all he can say, really. There are no other words to describe a sleeping Artemis.

She's just- he flounders, searching for the right word- not _pretty_ or _attractive_ or even _hot_. Those are words he would have used to describe those girls from Gotham Academy and they weren't even _nice_. No, he surmises, Artemis is beautiful.

And it's not a compliment even, because she just _is_. Like how the sky is blue or winter is cold, Artemis is beautiful. And he doesn't quite know how it took him so long to realize this.

Her scent isn't evil per se, he realizes, it's just alluring and attractive and just- God, it's beautiful. Her beauty is a culmination of her scent and her hair and her face and just _her_, just everything she does and everything she makes him feel.

He's halfway down the hall with a sleeping Artemis in his arms when Robin trots by and whispers, "Hey Wally, your room or hers?"

"_Shut up_!" Wally hisses, trying not to wake the sleeping archer, but Robin merely cackles and disappears into the training room.

Wally kicks Artemis' door open and lays her on her bed, being careful about her ankle as he draws her comforter over her resting frame. He's halfway to the door again when Artemis stirs and whispers, "I'm sorry about the shampoo."

"What?" Wally says, inching closer to her bed.

"The shampoo, it broke in the gym and I know how much you wanted to 'test' it. Sorry," she says without humor, staring up at him from her mattress.

"That's what you're worried about?" he says, "Seriously? You were almost skewered today or crushed or…" but he can't find it in himself to finish explaining exactly how many ways she could've died in the last twenty-four hours. He pauses to think. What would have happened if that bottle hadn't broken? The alternative makes him shudder. The only reason they'd even been able to find her was because her shampoo had left a trail.

"It's alright," he hears himself say, "But you still owe me a bottle, just so we're clear."

She snorts.

"I'll make it up to you, geez," she says without looking him in the eye, "my mom was wondering who the crazy kid that wanted her shampoo was. She invited you over for dinner."

Wally's eyes widen infinitesimally and he plops down on the side of her bed, his hand brushing her leg.

"Oh, okay," he says, at a loss for words. This was more than he had hoped for.

"Great," Artemis says resolutely, and before he can comprehend what she's doing she's launched herself from her mattress, placed a single chaste kiss on his cheek and ducked back underneath her comforter, "G'night Wally."

Wally sits there for another minute, not quite able to move.

"Hey, I said good night. You're not _staying_," Artemis stresses sternly, kicking him with her good foot, "_Get out."_

Wally stumbles toward her door, tripping over both his feet as he does so. He pauses in the doorway, leaning heavily against the frame. Artemis is just a lump under the comforter now but he knows she knows he's still there.

He rubs the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him and the resulting fragrance of her kiss isn't quite like a mountain or tree sap or even pine needles, it's something entirely different. He skirts around this realization for a moment because it seems that whatever Artemis' shampoo smells like, her toothpaste smells ten times better.

He determines that Artemis' next scheme to conquer the world is going to be through mouthwash and it is the least he can do to investigate the source of her alluring taste. For science, of course, and using whatever means possible.

"Hey Arty," Wally calls back to her before he leaves, "I'm really looking forward to it."

* * *

_Please Review :3_


	3. Chapter 3

_ovp A/N: Well this was completely unexpected. After receiving all the nice reviews about the second chapter and some reviewers asking what happened to the gym and lots of encouragement for more work from us. JustJanelle and I decided that we had a lot more we wanted to add to this story. So here it is. You have no idea how fantastic it is collabing with JustJanelle and I can't thank her enough for her patience during my exam period. So without further ado let's thank the kind reviewers who inspired the continuation of this piece. ThatCheshireSmile, bluepianos, stas and secrets, CookieMonstar-DeaTheKidd, Brock's Geodude, YJ, DxS4ever, YJ-Lover, SakuraJade (The reason for the gym collapse will be revealed in later chapters), LS, My Own Mayday Parade, argent98, A2ID, chaneldancegirl, RoyalVictory, anonjon, lala, Trylan Aire, Dextra2, Irenerb, rogue42197, LouissaSpitfire, Hooloovooshift-Speedster, and IronicVeghead. WOW! That is a massive list! Just a huge thanks and without the support and reviews this third chapter would never have come to fruition. _

_JustJanelle A/N: I have exams too so ovp is just being incredibly modest as always. I couldn't have written this without her, and I really wanted to write this because a few people asked 'what happened to the gym?' and I was like 'huh, I'm wondering that too'. That and the dinner scene. I reeeally wanted to write the dinner scene. So here it is: chap 3. Thank you to all of the reviews, readers and ovp, without whom this wouldn't have been possible. :D_

_Disclaimer: If ovp and I owned Young Justice we wouldn't have to take final exams._

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Chapter 3:

Wallace West, more fondly referred to as Kid Idiot, Baywatch and occasionally just Wally, hasn't seen Artemis Crock in a week.

This doesn't bother him of course. It's not like he's taken to sneaking into her bathroom at the Cave just to catch whiffs of her scent or like he's rearranged her arrows in the training room over a dozen times - Supey keeps knocking them over and he knows she likes them a certain way - because he _misses _her. No, he's been trying to catch her scent because it's like a freaking drug, and he's been rearranging her arrows because he doesn't want her throwing a hissy fit and blaming him when she gets back. So there. Whatever Robin tells you about his quickly developing case of obsessive compulsive disorder is completely, a hundred percent ludicrous, and besides, the boy is fourteen. What does he know, anyway?

But as wonderful as his week-long Artemis-free sabbatical has been Wally is not above admitting that he is a little concerned for the girl's safety. She did just get a gymnasium dumped on her not too long ago and the last he'd seen her she'd been limping toward the zeta tubes, refusing any help or even a pair of crutches. So, because Artemis is his teammate and because he needs her around - for the entertainment value of course - he'll admit he's been a little, teensy bit worried. But just a teensy bit, practically microscopic if you look at it on the molecular level.

It's late afternoon on his way home from the Cave, Artemis had once again been absent, when Wally is strolling down the street, trying not the run the distance from the Central City zeta tube to his house because it's actually nice out for once and he wants a few minutes to think, but it's hard and his feet are itching to move faster, when his phone rings. It's like a godsend because he knows as long as his mind is occupied with the caller he'll be perfectly fine keeping a slow pace.

So when his phone rings again Wally suavely pulls it out of his pocket answering in a simpering voice that is laced with humor, "Hello, you've reached the Wall-man. I'm here to make all your dreams come true."

"Seriously?" At the sound of Artemis's voice Wally's fingers flounder, causing the phone to slip from his grasp. Fortunately he catches it before it hits the ground.

"Ah, hi Artemis- um. Hi."

"Hi yourself, Wall-man," Artemis drawls.

There's a moment of silence in which Wally thinks he hears the clanging of pots and pans on Artemis's end. There's a loud crash that echoes across the line before Artemis curses, or at least he assumes she's cursing, because she's not speaking English.

"Uh, soooo- What's up?" Wally says in an attempt to save their conversation.

"Oh, nothing. I just called you completely out of the blue because I missed the sound of your voice."

"Really?" Wally squeaks, and to be clear he is not blushing - he just forgot to put on sunscreen this morning.

"No, Wally," Artemis says with a laugh, "Wow, I've only been gone a week and you already can't interpret sarcasm when you hear it."

"I knew you were being sarcastic," Wally snaps, shifting his phone to his other ear as he crosses a crosswalk. He's halfway home. "So why did you call then? And where have you been the past week? And when-"

"Whoa, Kid Curious, one at a time," Artemis says, and Wally hears the distinct sound of water boiling before she continues, "I've been home resting. It's not every week you have a gymnasium collapse on top of you."

Wally chuckles, "Actually it's not that uncommon for us."

He can practically hear Artemis roll her eyes.

"Yeah, well, resting was Batman's orders," Artemis growls, "not my choice. And as for why I called-"

Wally stops walking, he's standing under a tree that's growing out of the sidewalk. It's roots and bark are sprouting from the cracks between the concrete slabs, and if he breathes in deeply enough he can just smell Artemis' forest scented shampoo in the air.

"-how fast can you get to Gotham?"

"Excuse me?" Wally says, opening his eyes. He hadn't even realized that he'd been standing there with his eyes closed, breathing in the imaginary scent, until Artemis's voice had snapped him from his thoughts.

"Gotham. How fast can you get here?"

"Is that even a question?" Wally asks, spinning around and heading back towards the zeta tubes. "Between zeta tubes and my speed, about a minute. Why?"

"I- my mom invited you over for dinner remember? If I give you the address, think you can make it without getting lost Wall-man?" she asks.

Wally smiles, feeling giddier than he has all week, and it's not because Artemis is cooking him dinner or that he's going to meet her family. No, it's because there is food involved and possibly a bottle of her shampoo and if he's very, very lucky he'll even get to experiment on her delectable mouthwash and/or toothpaste.

"Sure Arty, I'll be there in a flash."

He's about to hang up the phone and put on an extra burst of speed - only because he's tired of being stagnant and standing still - when Artemis's voice snaps, "Don't hang up Kid Idiot! I haven't even given you the address yet."

"Right, sorry," he splutters.

"You can't tell anyone this. You got it Baywatch?" she says and he can hear the trepidation in her voice.

He realizes this must be a big step for her. How often does she let the team into her personal space, let alone her own home? He can sum it up in one word: never. Artemis _never _opens up. Artemis _never _lets others in. She avoids anything involving feelings at all costs, which is something he's also particularly skilled in, come to think of it.

"My lips are sealed, now hurry it up will ya? I'll be there before the call is even over at this rate." He stops in front of a Gap display window to check his appearance. He concludes that he doesn't look half bad. Sure, his shirt has a ketchup stain from lunch and his hair is in its usual disarray but overall he looks fine. And it's just Arty after all, he doesn't have to look-

"You got that?"

"Huh, what?"

"_Wally! _My address," Artemis grumbles.

"Sorry I was distracted," he says truthfully as he leans closer to the glass window to inspect his teeth. Doing so he accidentally startles an employee who's dressing a mannequin.

"If you're not going to take this seriously I'll just eat your portion as leftovers for the next month or two."

"Alright, alright. Tell me your address," he says.

She mumbles it through the mouthpiece and he vaguely remembers stopping an armed robbery in that neighbourhood with Robin before they'd formed the team.

"Okay, I'll be there soon," he says and yes - he realizes just how cliche and cheesy he sounds. To any passerby it'd sound like he was talking to his girlfriend, which Artemis most certainty is not - not that she'd ever want to be - or his mom.

"Oh, crud!"

"What?" Artemis says. He hadn't realized Artemis was still there, still waiting for him to say 'bye' or to give the conversation some sort of closure.

"Oh it's nothing," he responds airily while simultaneously cursing himself, "I'll be there soon."

"You better be or I'll find you and force all this food down your gullet."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Goodbye Wally."

As the dial tone reaches his ears he feels himself smiling. He hastily punches in his home number so that he can tell his mom he won't be there for the weekly family get together that is meant to involve all three generations of the Flash.

"Wally, where are you?" is the curt response he receives when his mother picks up. He's not really surprised when his mother's statement is not a greeting but a question about his absence. "I swear, if you're at the grocery store again -"

"No, nothing like that. I'm going to Gotham," he says before he can think twice about the words spewing from his mouth. Well, he thinks wryly, that was a dumb move.

"Gotham! What-? Wallace West, you come home and park yourself in your chair this instant. Everyone is waiting for you."

"Sorry but I got asked to dinner," he says. He's on a roll today. Has he completely lost the ability to lie?

"With who?" his mother asks. He can hear it now in her voice - interest. Mary West is not a woman to be trifled with - this he knows from experience - and if there's something she wants to find out she'll find it, even if she has to scour his entire pigsty of a room just to find his...porn collection. Which she had no qualms about putting on display because _it's a filthy habit_ and _if he loves it so much he should be willing to share._

"Oh, just a teammate," he says offhandedly, hoping she'll automatically assume it's Robin and drop the subject. He has reached the zeta tubes by now, an old photo booth, and is pacing in front of it while trying to get his mother's permission to go.

"Isn't Robin with Batman at a function this evening?" interjects the voice of his uncle.

Wally's stomach plummets.

"Am I on speaker phone?" Waly croaks, turning a completely unfathomable shade of red - a boiled lobster would be jealous.

"Well, while some of us are preparing dinner, someone needed to answer the phone," Mary West says matter-of-factly.

"Speaker phone?" he chokes, realizing that his private life is being put on display for not only family but his _extended _family.

"Soooooo," slurs Barry, "If you're not with Robin, who are you meeting? Everyone else lives at the Cave except -"

Wally cringes. He can imagine the grin on his Uncle's face. The Flash had been teasing him about Artemis and his love of blonde bombshells for _weeks_. Wally had, on numerous occasions, set his uncle straight by stating that Artemis was not even a human being, let alone a bombshell, and therefore not worth his time. Although recently he was beginning to believe she was human, if only for the fact that when the roof had fallen on her at the gym she'd actually been injured and that her smell was also clearly a deceptive aphrodisiac or something equally sinister to lure mankind into a false sense of security. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was beginning to think she was be- _nope. _Noneed to finish that thought. He'd admitted she was beautiful one too many times this week.

"- Artemis," Barry finishes.

"Who's Artemis?" Mary asks, and there's a distinct edge to his mother's voice.

"Green Arrow's new protegee," Barry says, there's a pause before he finishes with a flourish, " a girl."

Wally shakes his head, trying to think of a way he can get back at Barry for this - maybe he'll glue his shoes to ceiling - because his uncle is taking maniacal pleasure in torturing him in front of his family.

"A girl!" Iris chimes in, and there's a noise that tells Wally she's practically launched herself over the table in order to be heard over the speaker, "Oh Wally! I'm so happy for you!"

"Why?" he grouses sending a very annoyed look at his phone.

"You're having dinner with a **girl**. That's a big step for you," Iris says. He can hear the sarcasm dripping off his aunt's words and he vaguely wonders that if he hangs up and turns off his phone fast enough he can escape this conversation entirely.

"Look," he decides bluntness is the best way to go about this, "Artemis promised me a bottle of her shampoo because I liked the smell but it got crushed in that whole the-school-blew-up fiasco and as an apology she invited me over the dinner at her **mother's insistence **and I'm going so get all your stupid wise cracks out now."

"Wow, my son the stud," chortles his father, "He had to be asked to dinner. Couldn't even do the asking."

"Shampoo," his mother guffaws, "Is that what you were doing at Bill's Grocer?"

Wally can hear more snickering in the background.

"You know what? I'm hanging up now," he decides.

"Hey cool your jets, kid. We're just messing with you," laughs Barry.

"So can I go or not?"

"Of course you can go," his father responds, "We have to take advantage of all the opportunities we can get. Don't want the family line to end with you."

Wally can hear someone smacking the red-haired man, most likely his mother, before she gives her consent as well.

"Yes, go Wally. But there will be parental supervision, right?" Mary asks and Wally makes a disgusted face.

"If there were only Artemis and I left on the face of the Earth, humanity would die with us," he says. He's pretty sure that nothing would ever induce him to have feelings other than hostile amiability for the archer, and yes, he knows it's an oxymoron. Don't even get him started on Artemis if he tried to make a move.

"_Sure_," says Barry, clearly not convinced by his nephew's words.

"Yes," adds Iris, "Go to your _dinner date_."

"You know what? Just for that I'm not telling any of you how it goes tonight," he threatens. A variety of protests reach his ears as he hits the end call button and jumps into the zeta tube, quickly setting his destination for Gotham. He has barely materialized in the grungy alley before he takes off towards Artemis's address. He scales the stairs two at a time before knocking rapidly on the door which swings open to reveal a very irate blonde.

"And here I was thinking you didn't know how to operate a watch," Artemis says testily as she opens the door and steps aside to allow him entrance, "Mr. Fast and Furious took half an hour to get here."

"_Hey_, I ran into a bit of a situation," Wally says, sauntering into her apartment.

"What? Unless you had to defuse some kind of bomb I don't want to hear your excuses," Artemis says teasingly as she leads him toward the kitchen.

"Actually, it was something like that," Wally admits as he thinks about his family and what's going to face him when he goes home. He stands in the doorway between her living room and kitchen carefully. This is the first time he has been in her home after all and he doesn't want to be rude.

"You can come in, Wally," Artemis says with her back turned to him. She's stirring something in a large pot that smells delicious, Wally is led to the table by the smell of food alone. "No need to be shy at this stage in the game."

"Yeah, well," Wally says, looking around the sparsely decorated kitchen. Everything in her apartment is of grays and blue and browns. The place is clean but dark and the few paintings that decorate the walls are not of Artemis and her family but gods and foreign places that Wally cannot, for the life of him, name. "This is my first time here. I don't want to be rude."

"What makes you think there'll be a _second _time?" Artemis says, raising an eyebrow as she places the large pot in the center of the table.

"Do you need help?" Wally says, ignoring her cheap attempt to bait him.

"I'm fine Baywatch. I can handle a few pans."

Wally nods and looks around the table. There are three place settings. Just three. It wasn't as if he expected a huge turnout for this dinner, like what would have happened if he invited Artemis over his place - not that he _would _- but he had thought more than two members of her family would show.

"Um, Artemis?" he says, looking back at her. She has her back to him and her hair is tied up higher than usual, splaying over her shoulders like a curtain. She hums,

"Hmmm?"

"Why are there only three plates, are you forgetting anybody?"

"No, it's just me and my mom," Artemis says, and its the way she says it, with such finality, that lets Wally know that this predicament isn't limited to tonight's dinner. It's just her and her mom living here. Maybe it's because he just got off the phone with six of his nearest family members, all of whom care about him dearly and all of whom he cares about in return, but he feels terrible. He wants to say something comforting, something that will ease the tension he's created but the only things that come to mind are either jeering or flirtatious, neither of which will help ease the awkward situation.

"Artemis, I-"

"Artemis, can you help me a moment?" a voice calls down the hall.

Artemis looks up and wipes her hands on a towel, "coming mom," she says before turning to Wally and pointing at him, "don't move - or eat anything."

"I'm not a dog," he protests, "I'll be good."

Artemis smiles slightly and says _sit _and _stay _for good measure, before leaving the room.

The second she leaves Wally occupies himself by uncovering all of her dishes, each one only for a moment and only enough so that he can smell them. None of them smell as good as her shampoo but they all smell absolutely delicious. They are decidedly foreign and filled with spices that have names that he can't pronounce. When she'd invited him over Wally had assumed it would be her mother cooking. He wonders why Artemis cooked all of this by herself as he stands in front of a pot of noodles. The lid teeters in his right hand as he sniffs the contents.

He hums in delight when the smell fills his nostrils, he's pretty sure his mouth is watering when the sound of wheels squeaking against linoleum tiles reaches his ears. He lid falls from his hand, clattering, thankfully unbroken, to the floor. He spins upon hearing Artemis screech, "_Wally!_"  
In the doorway is a woman who looks very little like Artemis. She is small, with dark brown eyes and cropped black hair. Her features are Asian and she smiles up at him, her forehead wrinkling as if she is much older than she looks. She is in a wheelchair.

"You must be Wally," the woman says, "I'm Paula Crock, Artemis has told me a lot about you."

"S-She has?" Wally stutters, hardly remembering to pick the lid up and place it on the counter before he stumbles across the kitchen to shake Paula's hand.

"Yes of course, Baywatch, right?" Paula teases.

Artemis sighs, "Mo-om," before wheeling her mother over to a place at the table, a place that, Wally had failed to notice earlier, has no chair.

"Wallace what did I tell you about not eating anything?" Artemis grumbles, snapping Wally from his thoughts.

"I didn't!"

"Sorry about that, Wally," Paula says, interrupting their argument, "my chair got caught in the rug in the other room. Happens sometimes."

"It's alright," Wally says, gulping nervously as he watches Paula Crock situate herself at the table.

"Artemis told me you like her shampoo," Paula says with a smile and he almost thinks for a moment that he catches her slyly winking at him.

"Y-Yes," Wally says, and he can't understand why he's so nervous, "Um, it smells- nice."

"I'll bet," she laughs, "you know, I make it with herbs from Vietnam. It's where I was born. The flowers that grew around my childhood home inspired me to make the shampoo that Artemis uses. I wanted to give her something from her family, her culture."

"Besides the cooking and the Vietnamese swear words," Artemis says with an eye roll as she places the last of the trays on the table, "Okay, Wally. Dig in."  
Wally takes a moment to survey the table. There are at least four platters filled with foods that he can't recognize, noodles and meats and sauces that must have names but he can't place them, not even by smell. Food is food though and everything smells delicious so he digs a serving spoon into the nearest tray and proceeds to give himself a hearty portion of everything.

He is scooping more noodles on to his dish when he notices Paula reaching for the chicken closest to him.

"Would you like some?" he grins, placing the largest piece of chicken he can find on to Paula's dish before she can even answer.

"Why thank you, Wally," Paula says, before turning to Artemis and proclaiming pointedly, "_What a nice boy_."

Wally pretends that he doesn't notice Artemis roll her eyes and smile faintly at her plate.

"So, Wally," Paula says, once Wally is on his second helping and still isn't full, he's mentally thanking Artemis for making so much food when he looks up at her, "I hear you and Artemis have the same _extracurricular activities_."

Wally almost chokes on a noodle. He flounders for a moment, trying to swallow and maintain some of his dignity under Paula's scrutinizing gaze.

"Yes, ma'am," he says, and really- he doesn't know why he's so shocked. Of course Paula knows that he's Kid Flash. What good mother wouldn't?

"Good, Artemis could use a nice boy like you watching her back," Paula says approvingly, "I remember back in my day-"

"Mom," Artemis snaps. Its perhaps the first word she's said since dinner has started and it's dripping with trepidation and warning - perhaps even fear if Wally listens close enough.

"Oh relax Artemis," Paula says, with a wave of her fork, "back in my day I always had Artemis' father watching after me. There's nothing better than having a good man to look after you, especially in our particular business."

"You were a superhero?" Wally says, his food forgotten, and for a moment he forgets about code-names and code-words and never stating their activities so simply in front of strangers because he's so enthralled. Why didn't Artemis tell him that her family were ex-supers?

"_Mom_," Artemis says, slamming a palm on the table. The silverware rattles, sending both Wally and Paula's eyes careening toward her face, "Stop. You _promised_."

"Oh Artemis, if he doesn't know the truth how can he protect you-"

"He doesn't need to protect me!" Artemis shouts, "I can take care of myself. And Wally's just a teammate."

Wally tries not to shrink back in his chair. He's sure that he's never yelled at his mom like this, and maybe this is normal for Artemis' family but for some reason the blatant hostility in her voice bothers him. _Wally's just a teammate_, she says, and he finds that these words in particular bounce around behind his eyeballs, messing up his thoughts.

"Artemis, at least one person on your team-"

"No!"

"Um, I'm guessing this isn't the time to ask if there's dessert?" Wally interjects, hoping to steer the conversation away from whatever they're fighting about. He is ignored though and he sits staring as Paula whirls on him, reaches halfway across the table and grabs his hands which had been lying in front of his plate.

"I'm afraid I wasn't a superhero," Paula says simply.

"Oh," Wally says, wondering whether he should inquire further or drop the subject all together, "alrighty then-"

"You could say I wasn't on the same side as you and Artemis. I fought for a different cause."

It takes Wally a moment to piece this together. He's a smart boy and his thoughts are accelerated to the point where he can solve hard problems in an instant but all his common sense seems to be thrown out the window whenever something concerns Artemis or food or hair products.

"Oh," he repeats when he finally understands. He doesn't try to pull away from Paula but suddenly he is super aware of her hands on his. She was a villain, a con, one of the people he's spent a good part of his life putting in jail. And so is Artemis' father. "_Oh_."

He vaguely realizes that Artemis is busy glaring at her noodles and that Paula is still staring at him as if trying to interpret his reaction. All he can really think of, though, is his family. His happy bustling family. He has parents and grandparents and an Aunt and Uncle and Flash Family Dinner's every Friday and he can't even imagine growing up with parents who didn't believe in the exact same thing he did: _Justice_.

He tries to imagine Artemis growing up in a family of people whose entire moral compass was flipped on its head. How did she become a hero in a family of villains?

His hands relax in Paula's as he realizes how much more he respects Artemis for this. Well, he always respected her. She's a girl with no powers whatsoever working alongside a bunch of meta's, two of whom aren't even human, and she always holds her own. But now he knows that she made an even harder decision than being an archer, she had to decide to be a hero.

He looks up at Paula, his eyes skirting to Artemis before he says, "That must have been interesting, huh? Got any stories?"

Paula cracks a smile and nods before recanting what seems to be her entire career as a supervillain from her indictment to her fall and Wally listens with rapture. In some ways Paula's stories are more interesting than the ones Barry tells, or even the ones Jay tells occasionally. They are filled with danger and adventure and Wally has to remind himself every time she conveys that she lost this battle or was sent to jail after that one, that he shouldn't be rooting for her.

During this entire ordeal Wally tries to ignore the fact that Artemis is attempting to murder her fried chicken with a particularly nasty glare. She doesn't say another word for the rest of the meal.

It's later when all of the leftovers have been shoveled into Wally's stomach that Artemis finds it in herself to start the dishes. Wally offers to dry them while Paula wheels herself in to the living room to watch her late-night drama. They stand in silence for a long time before Wally leans over to place a dish in a cabinet above Artemis' head. That's when he sees it. Its so faint against her dark skin that he wouldn't have noticed it under any other circumstances but the harsh fluorescent lighting that seeps over the sink area. A line of dotted bruises that drizzle down her face from her hairline all the way to her neck. They aren't from the gymnasium incident. They can't be. They're too yellow, too defined, too fresh.

"Artemis," Wally says, leaning over to brush his fingertips over the marks, "What-"

Artemis flinches away, wincing and Wally immediately grabs her face in his hands. She stares at him wide-eyed as he brushes his fingers over her skin. He could have kissed her right then, they were certainly close enough, but he was too distracted by her bruises and she was too busy trying to inch out of his grasp for anything remotely romantic to happen - not that he wanted such a thing to happen.

"Art-"

"It's nothing," Artemis says, succeeding in her attempts to push him away. She stands with her hands on the sink, her fingers wet and pruny and shaking as she repeats, "nothing."

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_Please Review :3_

_((Oh and I hope ovp doesn't mind me adding this but to those who were looking to follow me on tumblr for story updates I changed my URL! Sorry for the confusion! It is now: intrajanelle. tumblr. com_

_The link is on my profile as well.))_


	4. Chapter 4

_ovp A/N: ovp is currently at a printing conference in Germany (possibly plotting against Greg he better not have killed Spitfire) - motherland of the printing press. Wish her luck! She will be checking her email. Prior to her departure these fans left awesome reviews. Pathtales, Ezzy307, SakuraJade, DxS4ever, bluepianos, ImaniSechelles, anonjon, Ls, yuna (wow! Latin America you rock!), Mr. Aanonymous, Boingy, Okami-chan, YJ, My Own Mayday Parade, fixati0ns, Opaul, Black Licorice Addict (huge compliment thank you!), Melissa Black13, chaneldancegril, lala, randommonkeyz998, Gimpyslair, Constance Aubergine, j9162, IronicVeghead, DorkKnight, and Irenerb. Thank you all for your awesome reviews. Once again huge shout out to JustJanelle who really has tolerated my hectic schedule. Hugs! I know you aced your finals._

_JustJanelle A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing guys, and a big thanks to ovp for being understand about my finals schedule. Now that they are done let The Nose Knows commence! Just so you all know I'm waiting with baited breath for Saturday. If nobody mentions Arty or Wally I might cry._

_Disclaimer: Trust me, ovp and I don't want to own YJ if spitfire isn't in Season 2._

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Chapter 4:

Wally stares at the ceiling of his room with unseeing eyes idly tossing a sloshing bottle of purple shampoo between his hands. He squints at the mysterious swirling contents tiredly. Artemis wouldn't tell him. She had blatantly refused to even acknowledge Wally's ill-concealed attempts to get her to tell him what was going on.

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"Hey, wait a second. Artemis!" he cries as she pushes away from the counter and heads down the hallway, ignoring him. But he has speed on his side and he corners her at the end of the hallway placing both hands on either side of her body, trapping her. "What happened?"

He reaches a hand out to try and touch the bruises again. She's his teammate, his friend, and she's hurt - in a way that seems to be done to look like an accident. She shies away from the proffered hand and he's not sure why this bothers him as much as it does.

"Nothing," she repeats not even looking at him as she elbows him in the stomach and flings open a door on her left to reveal a bathroom. Quickly ducking under his arms she opens the cabinet under the sink and tosses a bottle at him. He catches it deftly, not even registering she'd just hurled the projectile at him at a speed that could have broken one of his ribs,"There, you have your shampoo. You've had your dinner. Field trip's over, go home."

"You can't be serious," he protests. There is no way he's just letting this slide and accepting her nonsensical answers because clearly something is going on and it's most definitely not _nothing_.

They were getting along so well. They were actually tolerating each other, maybe even being friendly, maybe even more then friendly. Why did she have to go and screw it up by changing to defensive, secret mode?

For the few seconds he's in the bathroom - before he chases after Artemis's fleeing form - he notices the toothpaste tube on the left side of the sink and vaguely registers the brand is called _Green Tea Rinse. _Of course it would be something he's never heard of. Why does Artemis have to be so difficult and confusing and not follow any of his preconceived notions about the opposite sex?

He grimaces. Why can't she just be honest for five seconds of her life? Like at dinner. But then again, if he really thinks about it, inviting him to dinner hadn't been her choice and neither was revealing her heritage, that had been all her mom's doing. For some reason that stings a bit - to know that this never would have happened if Paula hadn't **made **her do it.

She has the front door open and he's barrelling down the hallway, grasping the bottle of shampoo so tightly he's afraid it will break in his sweaty palm. It doesn't even sound like his voice when he strains to get her to open up, _**"Artemis."**_

"No, Baywatch. Drop it." She shakes her head violently pushing him backwards out the door.

Wally can only tolerate so much. He's tried caring, he's tried patient, he's tried concerned - the only thing left is anger and bitterness - and hell - he's only sixteen. Managing his emotions is still far, far down on the list of things that he should be capable of.

"Well excuse me for caring, _princess_."

"Nobody asked you to!" she shouts.

He glowers at her, "Who would want to? You're a completely different person every five minutes!"

He doesn't realize his mouth is stuck on autopilot until he starts listing off everything else that is repulsive and undesirable about her - and these 'facts' are attributes he hasn't thought about since she first joined the team.

"You always have to be the hero. You always go solo and never rely on anybody else. I'm here trying to help you, trying to understand what's happening and it's like it doesn't even matter. Who cares who your family is?" he cries, flailing his hands in the doorway. "If Red Arrow was on the team he wouldn't let useless emotional baggage weigh him down. You _don't _have to prove yourself anymore."

Everything escalates from there. There's shouting and words - so many words - most of which he can't remember because they merely spew from his mouth unbidden.

When it comes down to it they're both at fault. One of them needs to stop this, stop this petty arguing, but both of them are too stubborn to admit they are wrong.

He's eventually pried away from the Crock's door frame by a none too happy landlord who drags him down the stairs as Artemis watches. He briefly glimpses Paula shaking her head in the doorway and Artemis swearing vehemently before he's pulled around a corner and out of sight.

Wally storms home. Not even bothering to take the zeta tubes because he isn't sure he's calm enough to hold his rage in the seventeen seconds it'll take to transport to Central City. So he runs the distance in a blind fury, cursing the insufferable archer all the way to Bill's Grocer where he promptly buys a tube of her toothpaste. He holds his rage right until he stalks into his house to the inquiring gazes of his parents and relatives, who appear to be waiting, most likely for some grand recount of his evening. They are not getting to hear this story.

Barry is the first of them to dare to approach Wally's seething form. Wally ignores him and strides past the living room, feeling like his stomach is a lead weight.

"So, how did it go?" Barry asks casually.

"How'd what go?" Wally snaps.

"Whoa. Who spit in your food?" Jay jokes shaking his head. "Calm down, sport. It was just dinner."

"Yeah? And Captain Boomerang _just _makes boomerangs. And the Tricksters _just _crazy," Wally says, his hands tightening around the shampoo. He had almost forgotten he was still holding it and he sidles it behind his back, hoping his family won't notice. The last thing they need is ammunition.

"Wallace Rudolph West, don't you dare talk to your elders with that tone. Apologize," Mary says, standing from the couch. When Wally doesn't say anything for a moment Mary enunciates, "_now_."

"No," Wally says after another pause.

"Wally," Iris says before Mary can launch herself across the room to throttle him, "are you feeling alright dear? How about some food?"

"I'm not hungry," Wally practically shouts, his shoulders shaking as he spins toward the stairs, "and I'm not sorry."

He stomps away from the living room having successfully made his entire family feel as crappy as he does and heads to his room, slamming the door just because he knows his mother hates it. The whole time he clutches the shampoo in a death grip because he knows if he let's it go this whole evening might have just been a dream.

* * *

Wally isn't sure how long it's been since this all happened. Maybe minutes, maybe an hour, maybe days. He lies on his bed squinting at the shampoo. This was his ultimate objective, right? Isolate the addictive properties of Artemis's shampoo and save humanity as we know it, because really, she has the connections to make this whole epidemic go global. He grimaces - no she doesn't, she's not like that, not like her family. He absentmindedly flicks the shampoo bottle open and inhales. Visions of green meadows and wildflowers fill his head and he almost feels a hundred percent better. If it weren't for the fact that Artemis will probably ignore him until hell freezes over he would've gone downstairs and apologized to his family by now. But, hey, he's still mad too and he clutches that anger in a vice grip.

A gentle knocking distracts him and he looks up just as Barry pops his head into the room.

"Hey kid, want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Wally says.

Barry doesn't seem to hear him though because he enters the room anyways. Wally tries not to move or look at his mentor as he comes to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Kid, things always appear ten times worse than they actually are. I'm sure whatever horrible thing you did tonight won't seem half as bad later."

"Me? I did something horrible? I was the picture of chivalry. Artemis was the one who wouldn't tell me who hurt her and whoever did clearly punched her one too many times in the head because they completely dislodged her common sense!"

"Artemis was hurt."

Wally finally looks at his Uncle and sees him frown and tense. Tense in a way Wally has only seen when they're watching the news and Iris is too close to some disaster or crime or something explosive.

Then Wally realizes something. Barry knows. He _knows._

"You know!" he points a finger caustically at the blonde's head, "You know about Artemis! Wait...the entire League knows. Everyone knows except us poor deluded sidekicks."

"Wally it isn't like that," Barry sighs sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands folded. "It's her secret identity."

Barry is a terrible liar.

"No, you know something," Wally spits out and the conflicted look on his uncle's face tells him he's right, "and you're not going to tell me? Figures. After tonight I'm amazed that I'm even entitled to know _your _secret identity."

Barry gives him a hard look before stating calmly, "I think you've just demonstrated the maturity of seven year old girl. Wally, the League trusts you and Artemis trusts you," Wally rolls his eyes at this. Sure she trusts him - trusts him to be an idiot, "but you need to trust her and realize that some things, for now, are just out of your control."

"Are you suggesting I _ignore _Artemis's injuries till she deigns to tell me? That's dumb. Real dumb."

"Hey, it's called taking the high road. It's something that you're going to have to learn if you're going to cut it in this business. There are a lot of gray areas, nothing is simply black and white."

"I know _that_, with Artemis everything seems to be in grays and purples and technicolor," Wally says, crossing his arms sourly over his chest.

Barry pauses for a moment and then snorts, placing a hand on Wally's shoulder, "Kid, you better hold on to this one. She seems to be able to rattle you up pretty good. I like that."

For about thirty seconds Wally forgets that he is completely bullshit about this whole situation and he flounders, "Bar-_ry_, it's not like that. It was just dinner. She made me noodles."

"I like this girl already," Barry laughed, "you should invite her over."

Wally is about to protest but he stops, remembering that he's supposed to be angry and demanding answers. So he averts his gaze from Barry's and mutters, "Whatever."

"Listen, kid," Barry says, realizing that he's not going to get out of this so easily, "Artemis's secret is something that she should tell you herself. Wait for her, I'm sure she'll be ready to open up to you soon if you just support her."

Wally sighs, "You clearly, do not know Artemis."

Barry chuckles and claps Wally on the back, "No, Kid, I certainly do not. That's why you should invite her over next Friday! She can meet the whole family. Now c'mon, let's go downstairs and apologize to your mother hmmm? She may not have superspeed but she looked about ready to vibrate straight through your door when I came up here."

Wally agrees and goes to stand. He feels a bit better, actually he'd feel one hundred percent again if only he could sort things out with Artemis already. He fingers his cellphone in his pocket but shakes his head abruptly. It's late and he's sure she's asleep by now. He'll see her in the cave tomorrow, hopefully, and maybe she won't try to murder him.

He's almost halfway to the door when he notices Barry is still hovering over his bed. The man turns to his nephew and there's a strange look on his face as he holds up a plastic bag, "Wally? Is this woman's toothpaste and purple shampoo?"

This is going to one awkward conversation.

* * *

"Artemis! Open this door," Paula says, banging a fist against the wooden blockade and making the doorknob rattle. That's all Paula can do. Artemis has locked the door, and her mother most certainly does not have the strength or ability to break it down. Artemis bites her lip. She hates it when she does this - takes advantage of her disabled mother's handicap - it's wrong. When she was younger and Paula was in jail, Lawrence Crock used to make fun of her mother's weakness and then he'd list off all the ways he had or would be exploiting Paula when she got out the _big house. _It had made Artemis sick, and now she is no better than him.

_Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, _she thinks wryly.

Artemis closes her eyes. She's tucked underneath her purple comforter, the fabric drawn over her face. She hates ignoring her mother like this, she hates so much as fighting with Paula but ever since Wally left there has been nothing but swears and shouting echoing throughout the apartment.

"Artemis, if you're not going to open the door just listen alright?" Paula says and there's a pause as if Paula is waiting for some kind of consent. Artemis doesn't give her any. "I know I said I would keep your family a secret from your team. I know I did, and I'm sorry."

Artemis' hands hover over her ears. She wants to block out the whimpering fragile voice that her mother is speaking in. She wants to just forget that tonight ever happened.

Wally knows. He _knows_, Artemis thinks, and she can't help but feel a little helpless as this thought bounces around her head.

Sure he hadn't seemed as if it bothered him. If anything he'd seemed non-pulsed by the whole idea of her being from a family of supervillains. But he was just being polite. The one thing she loved - well maybe not loved, maybe she just appreciated it really - about Wally, was that he was always himself around her. He never held anything back and he treated her like a person, not a teammate or a girl or a hero or a daughter of two cons, a person. And now he was just being polite. He was always going to be polite from now on. He would never look her in the eye again, not like he did tonight when he held her face and stared at her as if he was worried of all things.

The problem was that he was worried about injuries she was never going to explain. Why couldn't he have just accepted it, dropped the subject and let the evening conclude on a somewhat happy note? She had been five seconds away from asking him to stay and play cards with her - poker because everything else was too babyish - then he had to go and demand to be told things he had no right to know. He already knew everything about her sordid family tree, excluding their identities, so why did he have to ask about the bruises too.

Once he truly realizes the extent to which her family's criminal activities affect him, affect the team, affect the League, he will never be anything but strictly polite. There will be no more random arms slung over her shoulders, no more playful poking, no irritating ponytail flicks, the nicknames will cease, heck, he'll probably never even enter her room again and he may just take sparring with her a little more seriously now that he knows she knows how to kill people.

She'd thought he would've been less concerned about her welfare after learning this, but he had chased her down. Pushed and pushed and then used Red fucking Arrow as a good model of behavior and she had lost it. She can't even remember what she or he had said, but even now her chest swells with rage and the only outlet is her mother.

Paula's voice once again reaches her before she can cover her ears, "I'm sorry Artemis, I'm so so sorry but-"

But. There is always a but.

"-but someone needed to know. _You _needed to know that you wouldn't be rejected by your friends just because of who your family is. Wally likes you for you Artemis, not for me or your sister or your- father."

Artemis sighs. Maybe her mom is right. Wally hadn't seemed especially flustered, but then again he could have just been being nice. Nice and polite.

"Artemis," Paula says wearily, "I hope you didn't go out patrolling, I swear if you did I'm confiscating all of your arrows and leaving them on Batman's doorstep."  
Artemis chuckles, despite herself, and quickly clamps a hand over her mouth. This tiny response seems to suffice for Paula because the woman sighs heavily and says,

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Artemis listens for it but she doesn't hear the telltale sound of Paula's wheels squeaking down the hallway. Her mother had been becoming pretty stealthy in that thing, when she wanted to be at least.

Suddenly Artemis tenses, she hears a small creak as the floorboard in front of her bed squeals. Someone is in her room. Had her mother picked her lock? She'd done it before.

"Mom-" Artemis starts to say but she's interrupted by her comforter being ripped from her face.

Lawrence Crock smiles down at her. He's dressed in full gear except for the mask which he's pushed to the top of his head. He tosses her comforter to the side, grabs her by the hair and and pulls her face to his before he whispers, "Hey there baby girl. Didja miss me?"

Artemis executes a roundhouse kick to his head which he easily dodges but in doing so he looses his grip on her ponytail. She flips to the floor, standing between him and her stash of arrows. She knows that if she needed to she could always grab her bow to protect herself, it's right there, practically at her feet. But Lawrence is fast, he'd make a move before she could even load, and besides he's her father.

"How can I miss someone that I saw two days ago?" Artemis says, trying to distract him from coming any closer, "someone who left me with plenty of reminders of his existence."

"Oh, did I hurt your pretty face?" Lawrence taunts, "Too bad baby, I gave you that face of yours and I can take it away. Especially when you've been so naughty."

"Ooh, sorry being a criminal wasn't my cup of tea," Artemis says, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she manages to slide her foot back and use it to propel her crossbow into the air. She grabs it mid-flight and aims it at her father's head.

"There, there now Artemis. Don't want to wake your mother do we?" Lawrence chides. "Besides, I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

"I doubt it."

"Why so hostile? I am your father after all. Maybe if I were that red-headed boy you'd be a little nicer."

"You..." Artemis' eyes widen infinitesimally, she tries not to show too much emotion but it's hard when her psychotic father is threatening one of the only real friend's she has, "Don't touch him. If you so much as look-"

"Calm down, Arty, he got away before I could get a good look at him. And besides, that's not why I'm here," Lawrence says, flopping down on to Jade's bed. Artemis lowers the crossbow just a fraction, confused by the sudden decrease in tension, "I heard about what happened at your school."

Artemis narrows her eyes at him, "Oh really? And you didn't guess something had happened when you were knocking me around the other night? The healing ankle wasn't any indication?"

Lawrence chuckles, "No, I'm afraid I haven't made myself clear. I knew about what was happening at your school, have known, for awhile."

"You-" Artemis seethes, waving her crossbow in the air, "you weren't involved were you? People could've died! I swear to god-"

"Calm down," Lawrence repeats, his voice suddenly less amused, "This is just a warning Artemis. Quit that team of yours, or I'm done protecting you."

"Protecting?" Artemis splutters, the crossbow falling to her side.

"Yes, oh and before I forget," Lawrence says, leaping from Jade's mattress and smacking her so fast and so hard that she falls to her bed gasping, "goodnight, baby girl. Sweet dreams."

Artemis is still wiping blood from her face when he crawls out the window into the night.

* * *

_Ring. Ring._

"Hello, Mr. J!" squealed a preppy voice across the receiver.

The figure who stood on the outskirts of the rubble that was the Gotham Academy gymnasium listened intently as the caller complained.

"I know Puddin'. The gym was supposed to come down on his head but he managed to survive. I think it was the Crock brat," there was a minute amount of silence before the caller continued, "Oh goodie! There's a Plan B. I'll do good this time snookums, they'll _both _be dead brats."

* * *

_Please Review :3_


	5. Chapter 5

_ovp A/N: ovp is currently in Germany with no computer. Please leave a review. :)_

_JustJanelle A/N: Since ovp's in Germany I'll be taking over the reviews this time around. Thank you to: Mr. Aanonymous, IronVegHead, Opaul, My Own Mayday Parade, Dextra2, randommonkeyz998, Glory, Irenerb, Larkspur4Kat, j9162, fixati0ns, SakuraJade (your super long reviews always make me smile, just thought you should know), ImaniSechelles, rogue42197, bluepianos, YJ, Sarah-Leigh-Black, anonjon, Black Licorice Addict, Lady Imara, Sally Fantastic. Wow, there are so many my hand hurts! Thank you guys for reviewing, ovp and I really appreciate all the feedback. And, as ovp would say, thanks to all the silent readers as well! Wish ovp a happy trip guys and we'll be updating soon. :D_

_Disclaimer: I want to own YJ. I really do but ovp and I can't afford it right now. *sigh*_

* * *

Chapter 5:

Wally's halfway through their team meeting the next day and Artemis still hasn't shown up and he's begun playing with his cellphone idly under the table, debating whether he should text her or not. But he knows that what he has to say can't be conveyed through a simple text message and no matter how much the impatience is killing him he holds back, not only because he wants to have an actual conversation with her but because Robin is staring at him pointedly over the table.

"Wally, cut that out."

"What?" Wally says innocently, looking up at Dick who is giving him the most annoyed look possible from behind his sunglasses.

"This is important and you've been playing with your phone the whole time. Jeesh you can text your girlfriend after we figure out why the gym at Gotham Academy collapsed."

"What makes you think I'm texting Artemis?" Wally says, his cheeks flushing red as the rest of his teammates turn to look at him.

"I never even said Artemis," Robin says, waggling his eyebrows, "but you can deal with your love life later. We think-"

The door to the conference room slams open and Artemis saunters in. She's wearing civvies and the hood of her sweater is pulled up and over her face.

"Artemis!" M'gann exclaims, brightening upon seeing her enter, "Are you feeling well enough to join us?"

"Yeah, much better," Artemis says, peeking up at M'gann, but her head is still bowed and Wally can hardly see her face for the shadows that cover it.

Before anyone else can greet her Wally is up and out of his chair, his speed sending a breeze around Artemis' frame as he stands reluctantly in front of her. She clutches her hood so that it doesn't blow off her head and Wally frowns.

He reaches out and quickly wrestles the hood away, Artemis's hands fumble to pull it back on but it's too late. Everyone on the team has seen already.

M'gann is halfway out of her chair, attempting to comfort Artemis.

Kaldur says her name, reaching a hand forward.

But Artemis spins on her heel, running for the door. Wally catches her arm and when she turns to glare at him he notices the pain that is etched in her eyes. It hurts her to glare.

The purpling bruise that covers the lower left side of her cheek is swollen as if she had been stung by a swarm of bees, but Wally knows better. It's swollen because it's fresh and if the dried blood that wells from the center of the bruise is any indication, she got this last night - after he left. That thought makes guilt instantly wash over him. He had been there!

"What. Happened?" Wally says pointedly, his grip on her arm tightening as she attempts to wriggle away.

"I fell."

"Oh sure," he drawls tightening his grip even more. He really shouldn't be making a joke about this entire situation but he doesn't know how to deal with looking at the distinctive hand mark splayed across Artemis's face, "I'm pretty sure I've seen that episode so let's skip ahead to the part where you tell the truth."

Artemis stops struggling. She's averted her gaze from his and is staring at the ground no belligerent answer forthcoming. For a second Wally can't tell if she's holding a silent protest or trying to process her thoughts. He's half a second away from grabbing her shoulders and demanding answers when Artemis twists her wrist around and pulls it upward, breaking his hold on her.

"Shit," Wally says, holding his fingers gingerly. It feels like they're broken. It would be so typical of her to break his freaking fingers for being worried.

He looks up at her, cradling his hand, expecting her to flee again but she is still. She stands silently with her hands crossed over her chest. Wally doesn't move to grab her again for fear that he'll scare her away, like an injured animal. The rest of the team watches the interaction in confusion.

Robin is the first to make a move, nobody even hears him leave his chair, one moment he's sitting on the other side of the table, the next he's beside Artemis placing an unsure hand on her shoulder. She flinches but doesn't attempt to incapacitate him for touching her. They're making progress.

"Artemis, what happened?" Robin says gently.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Of course you don't-" Wally starts to argue but he's cut short by the voice of their leader.

"Wally," Kaldur snaps, sounding far too frustrated for his normal pacifistic nature, "I think it would be best if you kept your comments to yourself for the moment," the Atlantean pauses and then turns to the archer, "Artemis, we only wish to help you. What happened?"

Artemis sighs heavily and looks up at the team as she says, "Nothing. It was just a mugging on patrol last night. Some thug got a good swipe in."

"Yeah right-" begins Wally.

This time, before anyone else can quench Wally's incessant need to bicker, Conner steps forward and grabs the boy by the back of his shirt and lifts him into the air. Wally yelps as his phone clatters to the floor.

"Conner, let me down!" Wally protests, kicking his legs feebly.

"Let her speak," Conner growls, "and stop interrupting."

"Fine, fine. Let's hear how she explains this away. I always love a good story," Wally says and Conner reluctantly places him back on his feet his left hand still clamped on the red head's shoulder should he try to do something foolish.

So Artemis recounts in minimal detail how on patrol some unidentified masked man she had attempted to stop from robbing an elderly lady had managed to hit her with some brass knuckles during the tussle. Of course Wally doesn't buy any of it, scoffing throughout the entire retelling, whimpering when Conner squishes his shoulder painfully after a particularly loud guffaw on his part. When everyone appears to have accepted the story Robin turns towards Artemis cautiously.

"We're done with the meeting now anyways," Robin says, staring at Artemis, "for today at least, we've narrowed down the list of suspects to three or four possibilities. You can go home and rest if you want."

Artemis nods hesitantly, going to pull the hood back over her head before M'gann stops her.

"Artemis," she says, "do you want me to help you cover the bruise at least? So your parents won't be worried?"

Wally notices how Artemis winces at the word 'parents' but she nods all the same, "Sure, I don't own any cover up so I wouldn't know the first thing about using it. I'd appreciate the help."

M'gann nods enthusiastically and grasps Artemis' arm, dragging her toward the door. Trying to hide her excitement at participating in her first girl make-up session because this is not the appropriate reason for this activity to be occurring.

"Hold on just a sec," Wally says exasperatedly. M'gann and Artemis pause in the doorway and the other boys turn to look at him. Conner's eyes are narrowed and Wally knows that if he doesn't choose his next words carefully the boy will be hurling him into the air again. "You're telling me that you all _believe _her story?"

"Yes," Kaldur says testily, "we trust her Wally, as should you."

Wally glances at Artemis, just catching the fleeting discomfort that crosses her face at the word 'trust'.

"I _do _trust her," Wally enunciates, "but I know for a fact she wasn't on patrol last night."

"And how is-"

"Because I was with her!" Wally exclaims, throwing his hands in the air, "I was with her at her apartment and she cooked me noodles and- and-"

Wally is vaguely aware that the entirety of the team is staring at him owlishly, throwing glances back to Artemis, whose entire face has turned as red as the blood dried to her skin.

"-and I _know _that she didn't go on patrol after because we got into a fight and-"

"Maybe that's the exact reason I went on patrol _Wallace_," Artemis snaps, and Wally turns to look at her, his eyes livid, "because you just had to butt into to my life. I needed to blow off some steam."

"Please, as if your mom would've let you go out after that," Wally says, still not buying her act.

"Why not? It's not like she could've stopped me," Artemis says, and Wally blanches at this.

"You...just tell me- us the truth!"

"_Why do you care?_" Artemis shouts.

Wally stops in the middle of a retort. Artemis question filling his every thought. Why did he care? Why did he care so much about her safety? Why did the very thought of someone beating her to a pulp night after night set a murderous haze over his vision?

He doesn't have an answer. Or if he did it was suppressed behind months and months of denial and disbelief until it was just a fragment of an answer, barricaded in the very back of his censored mind.

"I-" he starts to say, but he doesn't know what he wants to say and he's so flustered and embarrassed that he chooses anger instead of reason. Again. "I'm leaving."

And he does. He's gone before anyone can protest. Before Kaldur can offer up some words of wisdom, or Robin can call him out on his shit, or M'gann can weasel some sentiment out of him, or Conner can shake him back to his senses. He's gone in a blur of red hair and green eyes and the last thing he sees is the expression on Artemis' face.

When he sits in his room at home hours later, having just washed his hair with her shampoo in order to begin the experiment process and build up his immunity to the narcotic, her eyes still haunt him whenever he tries to go to sleep. He can't decide if she looked relieved or scared.

* * *

Artemis slouches in the hard plastic chair glancing nervously down the hall. She's at Gotham Academy, wearing her gaudy, drafty uniform, and they are giving out flu shots today. She sincerely wishes she had stayed home from school.

Could this week get any worse? She sees that stupid freshman Grayson wave at her enthusiastically before he's ushered into the nurse's office for his flu shot - so he doesn't get to see the distasteful gesture she throws his way. She grimaces as her cheek throbs. The bruise is hidden beneath make up so that her mother or her teachers won't be suspicious, but it still hurts like hell and she'd rather not get stabbed with a needle to top off this perfect week, thank you very much.

But apparently it's mandatory for all the precious little students to get vaccinated or to, as the three slut brigade in her class had pointed out, inoculate the losers for the safety of the school's populace. She leans her head back against the wall - she hates doctors. Doctors have always told her horrible news. _Your mother will never walk again. He's dead, I'm sorry. Your arm will heal but that finger will always be bent to the left._

But as she sits there, perched on that godawful chair, where no matter how she angles her body she can't get comfortable, her thoughts stray to the team - more specifically a male member of the team. A male member of the team who has refused to have anything to do with her since the big team meeting on Saturday. That was, she absentmindedly counts it off on her fingers, four days ago and it's Wednesday and the prick hasn't so much as said one word, made one phone call, or sent one text. In fact she's pretty sure that Wally is never going to forgive her. She pushes the heels of her hands into her eyes and rubs trying to dispel the gloom that has settled there.

She does not care what Wally thinks. Not one bit. Wally is an idiot and a moron who is more interested in chasing tail then having a serious conversation with the daughter of **one **ex-con. The only feelings she has for him are loathing, disgust, and malice. She wants him to get out of her head since he seems to have situated himself there permanently, making her trip over her two feet and make a fool of herself on a daily basis.

Then there's the shampoo thing. She's pretty sure that Wally has no idea what he's talking about. It is just shampoo. There is nothing unique or remotely lethal about it. It smells like nature, like the woods her father used to throw her in for days to train. She doesn't even register the smell anymore - it's just shampoo that she uses because it's cheap to make and her mother brews it with such painstaking care. She kind of wishes she had some flowery, fruity shampoo like other girls if only so that she might actually feel clean when she used it.

"Excuse me?" a concerned voice asks and Artemis's eyes flutter open to look at the timid raven-haired nurse. The woman is hovering particularly close which Artemis's passes off as motherly concern - nurses tend to be motherly, don't they? The nurse leans in closer and says, "Are you ready for your shot?"

Artemis shrugs noncommittally, "I guess. Let's get this over with."

She'll never understand flu shots. If you're going to get sick, why fight it? It's like going against natural selection. Sickness kills the weak and leaves the strong. She pauses for a second, shaking her head. She's starting to sound like her father.

Artemis shudders as that thought passes through her head.

"Are you cold?" The nurse has had her sit on one of those hard metal benches that are incredibly stereotypical of doctors offices. Therefore, she must have mistakenly assumed that Artemis' shiver was from the freezing metal and not familial discord.

"No, I'm fine," Artemis replies.

The nurse nods busying herself as she carefully fills the syringe.

"Ok, this might pinch a bit," she remarks as she holds Artemis's arm and plunges the needle in. Artemis winces as the nurse slaps a band-aid across the puncture. "There you go. Influenza free. Do you want a lollipop?"

Artemis gives her a strange look. A lollipop? Does she look like a five-year-old? "No thanks."

"Suit yourself," hums the nurse disposing of the needle and vial, "Better get to class."

Artemis nods and hops down from the table slowly walking out of the examination room.

* * *

Wally is convinced that he's lost his cellphone for good. It's been four days, ever since the team meeting, since he last saw it and it's driving him insane. Artemis hasn't been by the cave since and his only way of contacting her would be by phone call - of course he could always call her by land line but like any modern teenager he has no idea what her number is, he'd always relied on the contact on his phone to reach her. He could just ask Robin but he is not looking forward to the troll drilling him about his _night _with Artemis last Friday, plus there would probably be a catch.

_Stupid_, he thinks, as he crawls on his hands and knees throughout the cave, searching for the device.

Artemis probably thought he was still mad at her but he'd been wanting to call her to clear up this mess since Saturday. He was simply being thwarted by his misplaced mechanical device. He needed to find it - if not for Artemis, for his mother because she was sure to kill him if he asked for another one.

_Okay Wally. Think_, he ponders, after his search of the cave's couch cushions had proved fruitless, _When was the last time you used it? Where-_

A memory washed over him, a memory of being hurled into the air and hearing the distinct sound of his cellphone clattering to the floor.

_The conference room_, he grimaces, _of course_.

He zips down the hall and in seconds is standing outside the door. Its open, which is strange because Batman is usually very particular about locking the room when its not in use. The computers in there have access to all Justice League files and the big Bat is particularly paranoid about someone accessing them from the cave. Of course, the only person on the team experienced enough to hack those computers could probably pick the lock whenever he wanted. And besides, Wally was willing to bet Robin didn't even need Justice League files to get all the dirt on his teammates.

Wally steps inside the room hesitantly, peering around. It's empty as if whoever had been using it had only just left. He'd thought he'd seen Batman earlier, leading Kaldur and Robin in here, but he could have been mistaken.

"There you are!" Wally exclaims, his cell phone is lying in plain sight, right underneath a chair on one side of the conference table, "I've been looking everywhere for you."

He grabs it triumphantly and stows it in his pockets. Now to find a place to call-

The computer is on. Wally blinks and glances around the room. Its entirely empty but the computer is on and just sitting there. He approaches it, tapping the screen. He almost jumps when the homepage for the Justice League database pops up.

"Welcome," it reads and Wally stares at the search bar under the word, debating whether or not this is a good idea.

Before anyone can rush in and stop him he types in a name and waits with baited breath as a file pops up. There's a profile picture in the left hand corner and then underneath it there's enough information and statistics to cover the lifespan of a full grown adult, let alone a sixteen year old.

Wally's eyes widen.

"How-" he starts to whisper, reading the information that flows across the screen, "How in the world did Bats get all of this data on me?"

He shakes his head for a moment and then reads aloud, "Wallace West, above average intellect, minimal strength? Minimal? Really?"

Wally is almost tempted to switch around his stats to read Advanced in every category, because clearly Bats has some warped rating system that can't fully appreciate Wally's particular skill set. But if he did that then Bats would know he was peeking at these files. That would be bad. Very, very bad. He shuddered at the thought of what the Batman would do to him especially if he had the capabilities to find out his favorite pair of boxers.

"Parents," Wally reads, "Mary and Rudolph West. Only child. Lives in...wow. This is a hell of a lot of blackmail material. He probably even has Artemis's -"

Wally stops, staring at the screen. No, he shouldn't, he knows he shouldn't. But-

Before he can stop himself he types Artemis Crock into the search bar, his finger hovers over the Enter button for a second, an eternity to a speedster, before he presses it.

"Artemis Crock, 15 years old, above average intellect, above average strength and speed- Really Bats? Picking favorites?" Wally mutters before scrolling down to the section about her home life, "Sister to- Wow, I never knew she had a sister. Jade Nguyen, I wonder why they don't have the same last name."

Wally frowns as he scans the information over again, "Mother: Paula Crock-Nguyen, ex-con, former Huntress. Father: Lawrence Crock, active, alias-" Wally falters, rubbing his eyes before whispering, "Sportsmaster?"

He stumbles back from the console, mind reeling. This is bad. So very, very bad. He did not want to know this. It had been fine when it was her mother, an ex-con, but the knowledge that Artemis's dad is someone who attacks them on a regular basis - usually with lethal weapons is terrifying. For a split second he considers that maybe Artemis is feeding the man information the whole _her being the mole _scenario seems a lot more plausible but he quickly squashes that idea because he knows that Sportsmaster has had no qualms about almost skewering his daughter in the past.

It is at that precise moment that the zeta-tubes whirl to life announcing the arrival of the loathsome creature. _Recognized Artemis. B-07. _Wally hastily shuts down the monitor and races out into the common area where most of team is sparring. He'll force her to talk to him later. This is not a sleeping dog he can let lie.

Kaldur expertly kicks M'gann away before nodding toward the two new occupants of the room. He can see Black Canary appraising him but his eyes are glued to archer as she shuffles her coat off. No new injuries - that's a good sign. She feels his eyes on her and sends him a withering glare before she turns to look toward the ring. And Wally might have been satisfied with that look and accepted that she still needed a few more days and possibly some prodding texts before she'll even deign to talk to him again but then he notices that she's panting. There's something wrong with her. Her countenance is flushed and she's sweating, a lot. She is continuously swiping at the sheen of perspiration residing on her forehead. So Wally zips beside her gently tweaking her ponytail to announce his arrival,

"You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," she snaps, panting. Wally wants to try and convince her to lie down but his question is squashed when the battle between M'gann and Kaldur ends and a new pair is called to the ring.

"Artemis," barks Black Canary - who clearly has not noticed this startling development in Artemis's physiology, "You're up. You and Robin. Go."

Artemis flicks the hand he had subconsciously placed over hers away. Both teens approach the mat and Wally watches anxiously because it's clear that whatever Artemis is suffering from so is Dick because his eyes are half lidded with exhaustion and his limbs hang heavy like lead as the two of them circle each other. It would figure that the two most stubborn - I never get sick - people would be paired up together because both of them are too proud to admit they are quite possibly ill.

Artemis's head swims and everything appears to be spinning as she lunges half-heartedly towards boy wonder hoping to catch the little acrobat off guard but when her fist actually weakly connects with his shoulder she realizes he's just as messed up as she is. She just had that stupid flu shot less then two hours ago she muses languidly in her addled brain, so how come she feels so horrible? It makes even less sense for Robin to be ailing because they haven't had contact since Saturday but he looks like he's about to collapse. Which is actually what happens to both of them a few minutes later when they both land with thuds on the padded mats coughing violently and retching. Artemis vaguely hears two things as she slips unconscious the tell-tale _Artemis: FAIL _(that's appropriate) and a terrified chorus of yells of "_Robin, Artemis!"_

Wally reaches Artemis's prone form first delicately turning her over trying not to jostle the severely trembling girl. Kaldur mirrors his actions on Robin's body. The rest of the team including Black Canary hover silently behind them, apprehensive and worried. Gasps of horror pass through their lips when their friends are turned over to face them, blood dribbling from their mouths, eyes closed.

"Someone," chokes Black Canary, "Get a stretcher. Now!"

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_Please Review...or Artemis dies :3_


	6. Chapter 6

_ovp A/N**: **Whew! It's been awhile since we updated this story but rest assured me and Janelle have not forgotten about it we've just been busy so it's really hard for us to find the time to talk to each other about the upcoming chapters and plot. Don't worry though I doubt either of us could abandon the story now considering we both have tumblr and would never hear the end of it. As usual big thanks to Janelle for her attention and contribution to the story. She just brings so much joy and hope which I tend to squash down…I know a few reviewers requested us to tone down the drama and suspense…somehow I think we've both made it worse. So let just take a moment to thank the great reviewers! Lots of appreciation goes to Chiickaa, andyc196, Hybrid301, Adachi-San, overobsessedgirlfangirl, Anonymous, Lalaforever, Prnyctina1091, IluvSmallvilleDBZSailormoon (It has never been proven that either me or Janelle have ever been the Arkhan Asylum.), SpitfireChick, anonjon (I hear you talked to Janelle on tumblr. I hope your exams went well.), lala, SakuraJade (Honestly no idea what to say! Your reviews are so kind and supportive. If you love drama get ready for more. Yes, Janelle and I usually try to have least one or two references in every chapter to Artemis's scent because really that's what got their relationship moving forward, thanks for noticing.), Hooloovooshift-Speedster, WhatTortureToCome, My Own Mayday Parade, bluepianos, I Vas Naever Heer, Angel of Mysteries, YJ, decdragon, Mander13, yuna, 3v3ryOn3lov3sM3, YJ-Lover, fixati0ns, cheergeeek101, Opaul, Sally Fantastic, Irenerb, j9162, Mr. Aanonymous, IronicVeghead, chaneldancegrl, randommonkeyz998, and Sirens in the water. Holy cow! That's a lot of amazing reviews. Stares at list, blinks, stares again. I'm terrified to know how many silent reviewers there were – thanks to those silent reviwers. Looks around auspiciously preparing to avoid thrown articles. Enjoy!_

_justjanelle A/N: I think ovp did I good job covering it! A big thanks to ovp, who's the best pay no mind to her humbleness, all of the reviewers and all the people who send me asks on tumblr about this story! I'm sorry it took so long, it's really my fault for the wait. Sorry guys! Oh and if you're interested follow ovp and I on tumblr for updates! (originalovp and intrajanelle)_

_Disclaimer: Ovp and I claim no ownership of Young Justice._

* * *

Chapter 6:

Wally isn't sure how much more he can take - both emotionally and physically as he holds down his best friend who is writhing violently from fever. Artemis is not faring much better but in a more disturbing way - she is absolutely still - having already gone through this phase of the sickness. She now barely twitches and Wally would have thought she was dead but for her shallow breathing.

"Come on Rob," Wally whispers, finally managing to twist a strap around Robin's flailing arm. He snaps it in place and it holds Rob's right arm to his side so that he won't hurt himself. Blood still wells in the corners of his mouth and stains his lips and Wally feels frantic as he jets to the other side of the hospital cot to tie down his other appendage.

"Black Canary, what's wrong with them?" M'gann asks, the Martian has her fingers pressed against her temples; her eyes are wide open and are softly glowing in the harsh fluorescent lights of the med bay as she desperately tries to garner some clue as to how her teammates have come to both suffer in such a horrible manner. The rest of the team is crowded around her, watching anxiously as she scans Robin's and Artemis's brains for any sign of infection.

Black Canary is busying herself by hooking the two up to every machine available, "I don't know!" she barks at M'gann, and Wally can tell M'gann is trying not to appear offended because the woman is clearly worried. She must not even know what she's saying. "Kaldur," Black Canary yells as she attaches as IV drip to Artemis' arm, "contact the League. Tell them-"

Before she can finish, a high-pitched whine echoes through the room and the entire team turns to Artemis, whose finger Black Canary had just placed in a pulse monitor. The machine beside her is no longer fluctuating normally, a thin flat line stretches across the screen.

"Everyone out of the room!" Black Canary yells, reaching for the paddles.

"But-" Wally starts, his hand outstretched towards Artemis' limp form. She isn't moving, she isn't even breathing and Wally feels something hard beginning to form in his chest. He gasps desperately, choking on air as he attempts to frantically suck oxygen into his lungs.

"OUT!" Black Canary shouts ripping open Artemis's shirt and shoving the paddles against her chest, "Clear!"

Artemis spasms, her body jerking upward and then falling back against the cot, before Wally can protest again Superboy grabs him by the arm gently – perhaps gentler than Wally presumed he was capable of being – and leads him from the medbay.

In the hall Wally notices that Kaldur is gone – probably to notify the League – but M'gann's eyes are still glowing and her gaze is focused on the closed door as if she is looking through it, as if she is barely on the conscious plane at all, and instead inside their teammates heads.

"Have you reached them?" Superboy asks, placing a hand on M'gann's shoulder.

Instead of answering aloud her voice echoes through their minds. It wavers slightly as if she is too preoccupied to answer them, "_No, I- I'm trying. Their thoughts are too jumbled from- whatever happened to them it's not only affecting them physically. It's giving them _nightmares_. It's making them relive horrible things- memories_."

"_What do you see_?" Wally demands, because he's the most likely one to know exactly what things Robin and Artemis are being forced to relive.

"_I'm only catching glimpses- a baseball bat, a trapeze, a young girl in a hat- I'm not even sure what any of it means- Oh_."

"_Oh_?" Superboy asks, "_M'gann, what is it_?"

"_I-I don't think I was supposed to see that_," M'gann admits, breaking her telepathic contact with their teammates. The glow in her eyes dims to nothing and she turns to look at Superboy and Wally and speaks aloud, "I saw Sportsmaster, beating Artemis with a hockey stick. S-she wasn't even in costume, she was just a little girl. Does that make any sense?"

Superboy's eyes darken but Wally simply brushes it off, he doesn't even know why he's trying to cover for her but he does, crossing his arms as he says, "I'm sure Artemis will have an explanation. The priority is her health at the moment. Is she-"

The door to the medbay slams open and Black Canary stands on the threshold, her hair is askew plastered to the sweat that lines her forehead. Even after hours of training, beating every single one of them to the mat of the combat room countless times, Wally has never seen her sweat and the sight disturbs him. He twists his hands as BC levels her gaze at them, trying to appear calm.

"They're stabilized," she says before adding, "for now."

"Can we-" Wally starts, taking a step toward the door but BC has a hand on his shoulder before he can even see inside the room.

"Wally, not right now. Kaldur just informed me by comm that Batman is on the vid screen in the conference room. You three go for the debriefing, I'll be watching over Robin and Artemis," Black Canary says calmly, but Wally knows she isn't the least bit calm by the way her hand shakes as she presses it against his shoulder.

"What mission could Bats possibly have that is more important than our teammates?" Superboy demands, crossing his arms firmly over his chest.

BC looks up at him and sighs, "Bats has received intel from one of his informants. It appears your teammates were infected by someone who has a grudge against the League."

"Who?" Superboy growls, his knuckles whitening.

Black Canary simply looks between the three of them once before whispering, "Sportsmaster."

* * *

Once they meet up with Kaldur, who is pacing by the kitchen with his finger nervously hovering inches from his comm, the four remaining teammates hurry down the hall to the conference room where they briefly discussing their own observations of their friends' conditions in an effort to keep calm.

"How could they both possibly contract the same disease on the same day?" asks M'gann skeptically, "Artemis hasn't even been at the cave all week."

There's a silence as the team looks accusingly at Wally.

"Oh come on! It's not like I kicked her out!" Wally snaps, but he still feels that telltale twinge of guilt at the very implication that this could be entirely his fault.

"Contact," suggests Conner, breaking Wally's inner monologue of bereavement. "They could have transferred- whatever it is, onto the other by contact."

"That would suggest it was transmitted during the spar. It was the first contact they have had with each other in days, but if either Robin or Artemis was infected prior to practice one of them would be more ill than the other," comments Kaldur, "and both of them are almost on par with their deterioration."

"Besides if the whatever-it-is was transmitted through touch we'd all be suffering from it," states Wally, "We've all touched them by now."

Kaldur frowns, "That was very foolish of us. We should be checked immediately for contaminates."

"They don't have cooties," snaps Wally, who is on edge because his best friend and...what does he even label Artemis anymore? Friend? Arch-nemesis? Crush - ? Woah. Hold on there, that last one doesn't count, he's distraught. "We don't have time for this. They're ill and a complete sicko is behind the whole thing!"

"It is worrying that Artemis is showing more extreme symptoms," says Kaldur, ignoring Wally's obvious exasperation, "Her heart has already stopped once, it is unlikely she will survive another occurrence."

"Don't say that!" yells Wally, "Nothing is going to happen to Artemis."

"Kaldur," M'gann pulls at her fingers worriedly, "Perhaps Robin has training like you - to resist poisons. He is Batman's protegee. Maybe," her countenance lightens at whatever thought has temporarily taken residence in her mind, "Maybe he is resisting the poison as we speak and he will be okay? Maybe we can figure out what poisons he's immune to and use it to deduce what poisons are affecting their systems."

Kaldur doesn't appear optimistic but he lets her hold onto that small shred of hope as they finally enter the debriefing room. "Black Canary is doing blood work. She will tell us if your theory is correct," he whispers as they stare up at the vid screen.

Wally deflates when he sees Batman on the screen. His presence makes this situation all the more real. But then his fingers curl into fists and he feels anger welling in his chest because he can't understand how _Batman _could let this happen to not just Dick but to Artemis as well. He's supposed to be _the goddamn Batman_. He's supposed to protect her- _them_.

"Sportsmaster?" Wally shouts up at the screen and the others whirl to stare at him but he hardly cares. He holds his gaze on Batman's cowl with a conviction he saves for dire circumstances and yells, "Are you absolutely positive this was _Sportsmaster_?"

"Yes, I've received intel that he used his resources to infect Robin and Artemis earlier today," Batman says stiffly. His image looms over Wally, M'gann, Superboy and Kaldur from the vid screen and his voice silences any doubt.

"Understood," Kaldur says, stepping forward, "please transmit coordinates for Sportsmaster's last known whereabouts."

"Wait," Wally says, waving his arms out as Kaldur begins to turn in the direction of the hangar. "This doesn't feel right."

Kaldur raises an eyebrow quizzically, "Why not?"

"Well…" Wally says, looking around at the rest of his teammates and Batman whose face is still projected on to the screen. Batman watches Wally ill-naturedly, his face haggard. And Wally knows that he can't simply blurt out that Sportsmaster is Artemis' father and that it's next to impossible that her own father would try to kill her because he isn't even sure of that. Sportsmaster's had no qualms about trying to impale his daughter before on numerous missions, and he's a psychotic supervillainous bastard so it is possible that he would infect Artemis with a nano drug. But all of that aside Wally knows one thing for sure, "Sportsmaster is stupid."

"Excuse me?" Batman says, with no humor in his voice.

"I-I mean, he's smart sure, supervillain and all, but he's not smart enough to come up with something like this. He's a mercenary type, gun for hire, he doesn't usually make the plans, not ones so elaborate. I don't think he could think up something like this, plus he has no known knowledge of medicine." Wally emphasizes with a wave of his hands.

Kaldur considers this for a moment and nods sagely, his eyes half-closed as he thinks. "Yes, Wally is right."

"I am?" Wally says perkily.

"Yes," Kaldur agrees, "but Sportsmaster is involved, whether he is pulling the strings or not. We must seek him out, hopefully he will lead us to the source of our problems."

Wally stares stiffly for a moment, before shaking his head and nodding, "Um- yeah. Sure." Then he frowns because he realizes something else, "but It's fruitless to look for Sportsmaster." The shocked expressions of his teammates spurs him on, "Look Sportsmaster had to have hired someone to infect Rob and Arty, someone with the knowledge to create something this complex. That person would have the cure, not him. And if that person has the cure they have to be near the place where both parties got infected which means it's a place that Robin and Artemis are seen together at -" Wally's eyes dilate with shock. Rob and Arty go to the same school and it's already been made clear that whoever or whatever is targeting them knows they go to Gotham Academy. His eyes flicker to Batman who is staring him down and he gulps as the rest of the team look at him expectantly. However, whatever excuse he was going to blubber is interrupted when the door behind them slams open.

This situation's bad enough already and Wally can't even imagine how things could get much worse but as a distraught Black Canary approaches them with a crumpled report clutched in her hands Wally feels his stomach plummet and just wishes that today would end already and that Artemis would wake up and smile her infuriating smile and laugh at him and entice him with her alluring scent.

"There's..." Black Canary is biting her lip and her eyes dart quickly around the room, "There are nanobots in their blood. They know where the base is. We have to abandon Mount Justice." Wally glances back into the room once as BC hurries them away, Batman is still on the vid screen and he's staring at something Wally cannot see, off-screen. If Wally didn't know better he'd say that Batman behind the cowl appeared…confused.

A flurry of activity ensues League members rush in to encode and collect all the files in the database. Sweeps are done to ensure no villains have managed to infiltrate the base in the three hours since Robin and Artemis collapsed. They can't use an EMP device to shut down the bots because that would also turn off all the medical equipment that was keeping their friends alive and monitoring their condition so it's quickly decided that they team should be relocated to the Watch Tower until they can identify the threat.

When Wally had first found out about the Watch Tower he had immediately had the overwhelming desire to visit it, because what scientist wouldn't want to visit a floating orbital fortress, but this was not how he wanted to take his first steps onto the Watch Tower. In fact he would be perfectly content to never ever step foot in the Watch Tower if Robin and Artemis would just wake up. As M'gann levitates their forms down the narrow halls of the space base to the medical wing Wally spots Batman from the corner of his eye and decides that this is where he draws the line. So before he can lose his nerve he races towards the Dark Knight and skids to a stop before him and blurts, "You have to tell the team."

Batman narrows his eyes beneath his cowl. "I will not risk their secret identities."

"Clearly someone already knows them!" presses Wally actually grabbing at the deadly hero's costume desperately, "Plus it always comes back to the Academy someone is targeting them at school and we can't help them if you won't let the team investigate."

"It's a League matter."

"No, it's not!" yells Wally, "It's not League business! Rob and Artemis are our teammates, our friends, and we'll catch the people who did this to them and...and if you won't tell them the common denominator I will!" Batman's gloved hand shoots out picking Wally up by his collar and bringing him to eye level; Wally stares him down.

"You and the team will find Sportsmaster so he can identify the person who supplied him the drug."

"But Sportsmaster's not the mastermind," retorts Wally, "If he was going to kill his _daughter _he wouldn't drag it out like this - he'd kill her instantly not use chemical warfare."

"How do you know?" Batman states and Wally knows he's not asking for the inconsequential detail of how Wally knows about Artemis's father he wants to hear him justify his hypothesis of how Sportsmaster isn't behind this entire predicament.

"Every time Sportsmaster has tried to kill-" Wally gulps, "Artemis, he aims for parts of the body that would kill her instantly. As his daughter she's entitled to a quick death, right? It's probably an honor or code or something. What's happening to her and Robin right now, even if he wanted her dead, wouldn't sit well with him."

Batman narrows his eyes and deposits him on the ground. Someone clears their throat behind them and Wally is grateful for the interruption because whatever courage he had is gone.

Green Lantern hands Batman a report which he quickly scans before nodding and handing it back to him.

"Come, Kid Flash."

They meet the rest of the team outside the infirmary. Everyone is exhausted as Batman informs them of the results of the blood work,

"Its key function is to shut down each of the body central organs one at a time, compounding that there appears to be fear gas in their systems as well. If my calculations are correct Robin and Artemis were infected around 6 hours ago, the drug should completely run its course in another three. You have three hours to find Sportsmaster, retrieve the antidote and get it back to your teammates. Are we clear?"

"Yes," Kaldur responds nodding to the team.

_Fear gas._.. Wally thinks, that explains the nightmares M'gann saw and once again confirms it has something to do with Gotham and not, he briefly sees the coordinates on a sheet that is passed to M'gann, Tibet. But Wally follows Kaldur from the hallway without argument, feeling heavy as if he's lost a particularly rough battle, he doesn't want to leave, not with Robin and Artemis so sick and especially not on a false lead.

He can hear the other League members objections echoing all the way down the hall as they confront Batman - since they believe the _sidekicks _are not qualified for this mission.

"They're just kids!"

"By Zeus! Batman let us help them," a particularly baritone feminine voice insists and there's a crash as if a table has flipped over.

"What if they die?" another member shouts, "What if Robin and Artemis die because you've sent these kids on a fool's errand? What is the actual plausible chance they'll catch Sportsmaster in time?"

Their voices are still ringing in Wally's head as he sits in the bioship, staring out at the vast emptiness of space, waiting for the inevitable descent. He'd always thought his first time in space would be more exciting, but all he sees are tiny dots of light stretching on forever, and, ironically, all he longs for is an endless stretch of road to run down.

"Setting coordinates to Sportsmaster's last known location," M'gann announces from the pilot's seat and Wally feels his heart clench. _This isn't right_. They shouldn't be looking for Sportsmaster, they should be headed for Gotham Academy. Screw secret identities, his friends lives were in danger, "We should be arriving in Tibet in-"

"M'gann, change our course for Gotham Academy," Wally says spinning his chair around to face her, and he can feel his teammates turn to look at him, their eyes brushing his face for any sign of lunacy - not that he hadn't already displayed enough of it tonight. If he could muster the ability to joke he'd say he lost his sanity some time between his friends falling down during the spar and being forced out of the Cave.

"But Wally, Batman said-"

"I know what Batman said," Wally says, looking irritably at M'gann and then Superboy and, finally, Kaldur, his eyes begging, "I know. I know but please just trust me. I can't tell you why or how I know this but whoever injected Robin and Artemis with the nano drug is there."

M'gann frowns, her eyebrows arcing downward as she turns to their leader, "Kaldur…" she says with uncertainty.

Kaldur is still staring at Wally, searching his face. After a moment the Atlantean nods stiffly, "M'gann set a course for Gotham Academy," he turns back to Wally and says, "You are certain?"

"More than certain," Wally says, his fingers curling around his arm rests, "positive."

* * *

"Well this was pointless," Superboy says, kicking an overturned block of cement out of his way.

"Indeed," Kaldur agrees.

All four of them are wandering through the remains of the Gotham Academy gymnasium. The shell of the building surrounds them but above their heads the night sky stretches across the space where the ceiling once hung, and rubble litters the ground at their feet.

"I _know_ it's here," Wally insists breezily, "just keep looking", he says peering behind a stack of bleacher seats. Superboy rips the bleachers from the wall and stares down at Wally menacingly.

"Artemis and Robin are dying and you have us scouring for a cure under a demolished building! Useless!" Superboy shouts, kicking a brick so hard that it flies up and over their heads and out of the building.

"Listen," Wally says, pointing a finger toward the ground, "I may be impulsive and easily led astray and gullible and a glutton and a moron and-"

"Kid," Kaldur says, his arms crossed impatiently.

"Right, I may be all those things," Wally says, "but if there's one thing I take seriously it's my role on this team."

Superboy raises an eyebrow at him incredulously and guffaws, throwing the bleacher seat back against the wall.

"Alright maybe I don't take the team all _that_ seriously, but I do care for Art- Robin because he's my best friend and Artemis, because, she's- yeah," Wally says, relived that his mask is able to hide the blush that is seeping onto to his cheeks.

"Kid is right, he would never endanger Robin. Artemis, maybe, but not Robin," Kaldur agrees, "Let us keep searching." Wally frowns at the insinuation that he would actually choose to let Artemis die but ignores it for now in favor of finding the cure.

"Maybe I can help," a voice says behind Wally and the voice is deep and the owner chuckles darkly as the four teens gasp.

"Sports-" Wally shouts, spinning to face the man, but before he can an arm is encircling his throat and the tip of a javelin is shoved against his stomach.

"Try to vibrate out of this Flash Junior and your guts will be spilled across the floor before you can say: oops," Sportsmaster whispers into his ear and the nose of the mask is practically pressed against his cowl and as much as Wally wants to vibrate his molecules he remains perfectly still as Sportsmaster takes a deep breath inward, "You smell like her."

"What?" Wally chokes.

"Sportsmaster! Give us the antidote," Superboy growls, flexing his muscles and extending his arms as if he is about to tackle the man like a linebacker on a football team.

Sportsmaster looks up at the Kryptonian and rolls his eyes as if unimpressed. "I'm looking for it myself boy," he says flippantly, "just be patient. I'm sure she'll be along."

"She?" M'gann says curiously, and it's perhaps this curiosity that distracts her just enough not to notice the slim figure darting out of the shadows, aiming a rifle at her head. Luckily Kaldur notices and he uses his waterbearers, raising them over his head, water spewing from the cracks in the ground and diverting the bullet from M'gann's unprotected skull.

"Drat, you caught me sugar," a female voice chuckles and the team watches as the girl, soaked and giggling, picks herself up from the ground. She steps into the light and her white face paint is smeared halfway down her cheeks and there's a lollipop clutched in the hand that isn't holding the gun and she's grinning madly, like a lunatic.

"Harley Quinn," Wally chokes, Sportsmaster's arm still encircling his windpipe.

"That's me, hun. I didn't know we were throwing a party," Harley smiles, licking her lips and waving the lollipop above her head, "I would've brought dessert for y'all."

* * *

_Please Review :3_


	7. Chapter 7

_ovp A/N: Okay this fic has literally been taunting both me and Janelle for ages. Here we were on a roll managing to update once a week then the summer hit and we both just got so busy and other stories and other obligations popped up. So we are very sorry for not updating and for the shortness of this chapter. It's a sad day when you realize returning to school might make your life a little less hectic. So let us thank you oh kind and oh so patient reviewers. Big thanks to violingirl56, Gen, Guest, anonjon, Guest, Guest, stars and wildflowers, EowynAhsokaLover, GIRLWONDER, ImaniSechelles, yuna, Dramamamapwnsall, YJ-Lover, DxS4ever, j9162, ColossalRay, Mark Joseph, Guest, SakuraJade, Prnyctina1091, Gimpyslair, Samian, YJ, Mander13, randommonkeyz998, P, Mr. Aanonymous, Opaul, My Own Mayday Parade, IronicVeghead, andy-ninja girl, Irenerb, and Chiickaa._

_WOW! Is probably all Janelle and I can say in response to everyone's overwhelming support just WOW. You people say such wonderful nice things and it's always a pleasure to read your reviews. Thank you for taking the time to write them._

_intrajanelle a/n: OH GOSH. SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE IT IS ENTIRELY MY FAULT. I've been so busy this summer and ovp has as well and it's been hard writing and coordinating what we're writing and what not. So, sorry this chapter is so short, the next will be longer. I'm thinking there are one, maybe two, chapters left? So we're approaching the end and a big thanks for all the support thus far! Please enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: You know, considering our summer hiatus ovp and I could own YJ. But sadly we still don't._

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_Chapter 7:_

The entire team stares at Harley. She saunters over to Sportsmaster the barrel of her gun moving erratically and everyone is fixated on her form, waiting for an opening.

"Hey Sporty what'cha doing?" She asks, tapping him on the shoulder with butt of her gun; because she is a good two feet shorter than him her head barely reaches his shoulders. Sportsmaster narrows his eyes, his grip tightening on Wally's throat, causing said redhead to let out a strangled yelp.

"I called _you_ remember," he snarls. Harley just grins at him without a care in the world; her make-up is smeared and her costume is torn but she shoves a lollipop in her mouth regardless.

"And you hired me too," she chirps as if it was the most poignant statement in the world, "Haven't you ever heard of no refunds or exchanges?" Sportsmaster's grip gets infinitesimally tighter around Wally's neck. Any tighter and Wally's pretty sure he won't ever get to bask in Artemis's perplexing scent again.

"I asked you to get rid of some unwanted baggage not make her suffer you sick twisted bitch."

Wally's eyes narrow at the insult towards someone he maybe, possibly, just a little bit, might care about. Now he's just plain pissed off and no longer lifeless in Sportsmaster's grubby hands. He begins to struggle angrily in the villain's grasp desperately using his red gloved hands to claw at Sportmaster's paws.

"Artemis isn't baggage!" he hisses vehemently, "And what about Robin?"

"Two for the price of one," cackles Harley gleefully, "Everybody loves a good sale. Besides it was like killing two _birds _with one stone. Bird boy been a pain in my ass for years."

It's like a spark ignites. Suddenly the team comes alive - they're no longer paralyzed staring at the exchange as slack jawed bystanders. Words, orders, pour into his head and Wally pushes them to back of his mind. He has more important things to worry about like how to get out of Sportsmaster's grasp. The man before him is losing patience already with his poorly executed attempts to escape and Harley's inane laughter is not helping the livid man's mood as she completely ignores his angry yells at her to quit acting like a moron. If he remains trapped in Sportsmaster's clutches in a fit of rage he might just become Kid Quiet. For one moment he wonders how much Artemis would enjoy him silent and stoic and out of her pine-scented hair. It's a surprisingly sad thought that Artemis would be pleased at the prospect of his demise because now that he's actually gotten to know her he doesn't want to stop. However, he has a sneaking suspicion that Artemis might actually care for him more than she lets on - although she's about as cuddly as a porcupine. But right now he has other priorities. He can still hear the frantic voices of his teammates echoing inside his mind so he finally decides to tune into their conversation.

_"Pay attention Kid. We have to distract Harley and Sportsmaster in order to aide in your escape," _Kaldur's voice echoes ominously.

_"How?" _questions Conner mentally, throwing a hand in the direction of their comrade and the two criminals, _"One's got a gun. The other's got Wally."_

_"Didn't know you cared Supey." _Wally says and he congratulates himself on not sounding like a terrified girl. Even if Robin wasn't here to taunt him a coma and infection is not enough to stop him from trolling him about this forever. Honestly, fastest kid alive and he's being held captive by a psycho who isn't even a meta.

_"Focus Wally," _chides Kaldur, _"This is not the time for jokes." _

Wally would sigh if his neck wasn't being crushed. They obviously are not going to be any help. He has to get out of here on his own. That's a startling thought. He's never worked alone. Not truly. It was either with his Uncle or the team - and usually his Uncle had the plan. He stares down crossed eyed and demurely at the hand holding him, he has to get out of this hold. Wally wracks his brain trying valiantly to think of some magic trick for how to get Sportsmaster to release him, they're running out of time if he wants to save Artemis and Robin.

Then a thought strikes him. He can get out of this hold - he just has to vibrate. No, he hasn't yet mastered how to vibrate his molecules so that he can shift through solid objects but he doesn't need to phase through the hand that's holding him the heat generated by the friction of his buzzing molecules alone should be uncomfortable enough to get the assailant to let go. _He's only human after all, _thinks Wally wickedly. Within moments he's vibrating violently and Sportsmaster barely has time to turn his head confused at his actions before he lets out a howl of pain as his hand burns; when his grip slackens KF instantaneously writhes himself free quickly zipping across the rumble to knock down Harley.

"Guys," he yells as they all stand transfixed as he wipes at his bloody nose, "Move! Attack! Engage! Do something!"

The team springs into action attacking a violently cussing Sportsmaster leaving Wally alone with Bazooka Jane, okay, all she has is a rifle but as Wally dodges the shots he can't help but think her aim is impeccable for a lunatic and that he might really be in trouble if she actually stops cackling for two minutes and aims properly.

He needs to keep Harley blabbing or they'll never find the cure because bottom line is Harley is a jabber-mouth and no matter how much intelligence she possesses every corrupt, evil, twisted individual will always want to gloat and tell the hopeless heroes the greatness of their fool-proof plan even when most of the time they're the fool for doing so.

"How'd you do it?" He yells as he whizzes past her form kicking up enough plaster dust to make her cough. By now she's used up most of her ammunition and Sportsmaster seems in no hurry to help her. Interesting how poisoning and slowly killing a person's daughter makes them temporarily more humane and willing to let someone on their side suffer. But then again criminals don't usually rank high on the sanity spectrum or the loyalty one.

"Do what?" she taunts back beginning to back away from the moving blur.

"You know get 'em," Wally calls jovially - although his voice wavers and turns grave before he finishes the statement, "How did you take down _the _Robin and the daughter of a mighty assassin in one fell swoop? Unless of course the Joker did it and you're just the sad little peon he sent to clean up his mess."

Harley's face darkens, "Pookie would never take credit for any crimes I commit!" She cries, "We've had a breakthrough in couples therapy."

Wally has to stop himself from hurling at the unfortunate mental images that clouds his mind at Harley's admission. Couples therapy - he barely avoids tripping over his own two feet.

"Sure _couples therapy_," slurs Wally this useless prattle isn't getting him anywhere. He needs to really get her mad or madder, "I'm sure the Joker loved talking about his feelings to his demented little fangirl."

"_Kid Flash what are you doing?!" _Kaldur's alarmed cries fill his head, _"Do not taunt Harley."_

"_How else are we going to find out where the antidote is?"_

"_We don't even know if she has it," _points out M'gann. Wally ignores her but then snaps back,

"_Why don't you read her mind and find out if she has it?" _He can see M'gann bite her lip before she slowly responds.

"_It's too risky I might unhinge her more." _

"_Fine." _Wally bites, _"Don't help." _He can hear everyone protest as he turns once again to face the cackling clown. He should be worried. Harley will have no remorse. He should be scared. But the prospect of losing his best friend and Artemis is even worst than whatever fate awaits him if Harley really does lose it. He wonders if she still keeps those hyenas.

"Come on," he yells as he glances at the screen embedded in his wrist, "They have what- an hour? Two hours, at most? You've practically won. What's the likelihood we'll get the cure to them in time at this point."

Collective gasps filter across his mind and Wally's hit by a mental wall of emotion - anguish, pain, dread, sadness but he bites his lip and fights against the tidal wave - attempting to squash his own surfacing fears. Now that he's said it, it feels real. Like it's a possibility. Absentmindedly a hand drifts through his hair and it still has her fragrance trapped within it's copper masses even though he hasn't showered in the forty-eight hours (since his friends fell sick) the scent lingers. It's like she's there egging him on, taunting him, smiling at him. She's not going anywhere - not if he can help it. Time for a change of tactic.

"You know what, I'm probably asking the wrong person. You're not smart enough to create a nano drug. All brawn and no brains over there must have helped you."

Harley bristles before sneering, "You don't know anything, Kid."

"Well then I'll have to draw my own conclusions," Wally taunts.

"_Kid what are you _- " Kaldur begins to warn him but Wally ignores the voice in his mind as if ignoring his own conscience. He takes a step backward, balancing himself on the balls of his feet before jettisoning himself towards Harley. She's still confused as to what he's doing, her arms swinging madly in the air, one holding the gun, one still clutching the lollipop for one reason or another.

Wally collides into her headlong like a linebacker, and he may have put on some muscle the past year but Harley is stronger than she looks. She almost doesn't tumble over until she finally does and then a string of gunshots rings through the air before the gun is finally knocked from her hand due to a switch kick from Wally's boot.

Wally is almost afraid he's killed her, with how still she is underneath him, until she lifts her head and this mad giggle begins in the back of her throat.

"Oh hun," she whispers, "that felt delightful. Do it again."

Needless to say Wally scrambles away from her as quickly as his legs allow - which is pretty quick.

Behind him the team has stopped fighting Sportsmaster, because he's not fighting back, and now they stare instead at Harley who is looking forlornly at her crushed lollipop. It's cracked down the middle into two equal halves and she appears rather humored and upset all at once. Before any of them can stop him Sportsmaster, no long impeded by her weapon or the team, stomps over and picks Harley up by the back of her costume. Instead of screaming, as one usually does when hauled into the air by an intimidatingly bulky man, Harley merely crosses her legs so she appears to be meditating midair.

"Listen you bitch, I won't have my daughter dying a slow and painful death like one of your science experiments. Give me the antidote before I rip the smirk from your face," Sportsmaster says, and Wally cringes at the word 'daughter'. He almost doesn't want to turn around and face the team, he doesn't want to see the looks on their faces as they piece together what Sportsmaster is saying. He knows exactly how Artemis must feel.

"It's broken, hun," Harley says.

"What do you mean it's - " Sportsmaster begins to shout before he glances down at the lollipop, crushed at his feet. He tosses Harley to the side like an old rag doll and picks up the broken pieces of cherry colored corn syrup. "You put the antidote to a lethal nano-virus- in a piece of candy?"

Harley merely shrugs, "I told them they should have taken the lollipop. _Suckers_."

Before any of them can stop him Sportsmaster is unsheathing his javelin and swinging it over his head, aiming it at Harley's skull.

Wally doesn't know how he musters the strength to stop Sportsmaster but he does - with a little help from Conner who runs forward and clamps the mans arms to his sides - by screaming, "Wait!" quite loud enough that every eye in the destroyed gym turns to him. Sportsmaster quits struggling in Conner's grasp if only to watch Wally fumble over his words.

"I know how you feel," Wally says quickly, and he never thought he'd be saying that to Sportsmaster of all people but he continues, "she's hurt my friends, your- Artemis. She's hurt them and I promise you she's not going to get away with it. But right now we need her to tell us about the nano-virus, because as much of an idiot as she is she must know something about - "

Harley bursts into laughter. And it's not a pretty kind of laughter or cackling like Robin's, it's peels and peels of outraged, deep, loathing laughter. When she's done she looks up and narrows her eyes at Wally, "Oh, hun, I may be insane but that doesn't make me an idiot. I'm the one who cooked up the nano-virus for pookie-kins at his request." She gestures rudely at the restrained Sportsmaster, "I'm the one who made the virus and the antidote. I used to be a doctoral candidate. I worked at Arkham Asylum. I have the credentials of a nurse you see- well scratch that I still am a nurse. Now that I think about it fighting isn't allowed at work," Harley says, looking up where the gym ceiling should be, "I wonder if I'm fired."

"You work here?" Wally says aghast.

"_Worked_, hun, past tense, we mustn't dwell on things that are behind us," Harley says.

"But you _did _work here?" Wally says, stepping closer, "Why?"

"To set the gears in motion of course," a voice says from the doorway, and the entire team turns to stare as a man steps out of the shadows. The first thing Wally notices about him is that he's incredibly pale, the second is that his voice is light and feathery, almost on the edge of a laugh like a child's, even as he spews ghastly things, "to carve the little bird and shoot down the archer by her own arrow, to stick a knife in the big Bats back and twist and twist until his spine goes pop!"

Wally gulps as the man steps closer, his feet swaying as if he's dancing through the rubble. His face is white and a large red smile is cut across his cheeks.

"Everyone back, _get back_," Kaldur says, grabbing Wally's shoulders and pulling him into their tight circle, "it's the Joker."

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_Please review :3_


	8. Chapter 8

o_vp A/N: Okay by some miracle last night Janelle and I were both in the document and entered a state a nirvana which allowed us to produce this entire chapter in like two hours - sure I put off assignments but it is all in the name of Young Justice so it's all good. So we hope you enjoy it as much as we both enjoyed writing it and throwing ideas around. If we're being really optimistic - like really, really optimistic - we'll hopefully have this story complete before the end of the hiatus but now that we've said it our lives are going to inevitably get in the way. But as usual we'd like to thank all the awesome people who reviewed you make all this hard work worth it. Thanks to: YJ-Lover, Guest, wereguardian, violingirl56, SakuraJade, Brit, randommonkeyz998, SnowWhiteAppleSauce, Opaul, Gracie-Geek, bluepianos, andy-ninja girl, IndigoM9851, My Own Mayday Parade, yuna, Guest, Guest, Guest, j9162, .Roared, YJ, Irenerb, and Sally Fantastic. Thanks to all the silent reviewers as well._

_intrajanelle a/n: Oh gosh. I can't believe this is almost finished. Just the epilogue left. Ah I hope you guys enjoy, thanks for all the reviews, support and constant asks on tumblr requesting for us to finish this. It's because of all of you and ovp that the nose knows is finally drawing to an end._

_disclaimer: IF OVP AND I OWNED YOUNG JUSTICE THERE WOULD BE SO MANY SHAMPOO REFERENCES so I think it's safe to say we do not own it in any way shape or form._

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Chapter 8:

"Pudding!" squeals Harley throwing herself into Joker's arms, "You're here. You're here." She lets loose another cackle before sending the huddled group of teenagers a half crazed look. "Oh what shall we do with them?" She cries gleefully, "Tell me something naughty and I'll do it."

_"We're screwed. Game over." _Wally states in his head and then,_"Well? Isn't someone going to tell me I'm wrong? Hello? Earth to overly optimistic teammates?"_

_"We have failed." _A tsunami of regret floods through his mind in unrelenting waves, whether it's Kaldur's doing or M'gann's he's not sure, but Wally fights the torrent of emotion.

_"Are you people serious? It's a minor set back."_

_"The antidote is crushed." _Conner grunts.

_"But not _**_gone. _**_She still knows," _Wally argues, "_She still-_" before he can help himself his eyes are falling on the lollipop crushed on the floor. It's sitting between where the Joker is standing, silently, with Harley draped on his arm, and where they're cowering. Conner is still holding Sportsmaster back while the rest of the group remains huddled around Kaldur. _"Five second rule_," Wally whispers in his mind.

"_What_?" M'gann asks, looking at him confused.

"Five second rule," he says aloud before turning to the others, "if food falls on the floor you can still eat it. It's dirty but it isn't inedible."

"Wally don't tell me you're hungry-" Conner begins to growl but Wally cuts him off.

"The lollipop is fine, better actually. It's cut in half so we can give one half to Robin and one half to Artemis. It's still-"

"Oh the optimism of the young," a slithery voice rings across the gymnasium and Wally spins to face the Joker, half-surprised he was even speaking aloud. The Joker is walking toward them, slowly, like a zombie, dragging his feet across the rubble. He's brushed Harley off him and she follows along behind, eagerly jumping to be seen over his shoulder, a wide smile lighting her face. "It's too late, far too late. The little birdie has fallen from the nest, the archer girl is crushed under my toe, the big Bat will fall."

He's halfway across the gymnasium now and crouching, reaching downward for something half concealed in darkness and Wally sees a flash of red. He knows that red; red, corn-syrup, a lollipop.

"No," Wally whispers and his feet carry him forward before his mind can process what he's doing.

He's running, running so quickly the world has blurred around him into dark hues and shadows and barely discernible obstacles of debris (how he doesn't trip or fall in the rubble he has no idea) but in the blink of an eye he's reaching right under the Joker's nose for the two halves of the broken lollipop and snatching them from wrinkled hands.

"Wally!" M'gann screams but it's too late, Wally is dashing backward, barely turning before he gets a face full of large bloodshot eyes, the Joker shouldn't be able to move that fast, and an arm reaches out and drags him against a thin chest. In desperation Wally throws the lollipop pieces in the air watching as M'gann snatches them with her mind and levitates them to safety.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the Joker muses, unsheathing a knife from his wrist, "You come to play?"

"Wally-"

"Go!" Wally shouts, briefly wondering just why supervillains like grabbing him around the neck like this. "You have to get the antidote to the others, just GO."

"You're so stupid," Superboy says, throwing Sportsmaster aside and the man spends a minute rubbing his sore skin and glaring at the Kryptonian before standing on his own. "We aren't leaving you here." Conner appears ready to charge forward but Kaldur places a firm hand against his chest and M'gann earnestly pulls at his shoulder. They can't risk anyone else getting caught - Harley's still there and just as crazy.

"Let him go, Joker," Kaldur says, stepping forward.

The Joker merely cackles while Harley dances around him in perverse circles. "But I haven't had a chance to leave my mark on him. Let's see, he's got a nice face, good cheekbones, like his mentor. Maybe just a little scar-" the Joker whispers before dragging the blade along the skin under Wally's cheek.

Wally doesn't scream, he's proud of that fact alone, he steels his jaw and wishes the tears away as the blade strokes fiery lines along the curve of his cheeks. And then the maniac drags the knife downward leaving jagged curls of pain along the side of his neck, his knife easily slicing through the fabric of his costume and slipping dangerously close to his jugular and Wally finds it hard to be strong when Harley begins laughing maniacally cooing about the pretty color of his blood.

He could just vibrate like he did with Sportsmaster but he has a sick feeling that if he did so the Joker would simply shove the blade straight through his throat, and the whimpering sound M'gann is making across the room isn't helping as much as making him want to cry as the Joker carves even deeper lines along his collarbone.

"You aren't as fun to carve as my birdie," the Joker says disheartened as if he's on a bad playdate.

"Well then let him go you creepy clown," a voice whispers before suddenly Wally is being pulled upward out of the Joker's grasp and the Joker is falling forward, held down by a single, black combat boot.

Wally turns slightly to see Sportsmaster holding him by the nape of his neck, right where his cowl connects to his uniform - he feels suspiciously like a lioness with her cub at least he hopes so because then that would make him the prey, the man looks at him and seems to raise an eyebrow behind his mask, before placing him on both feet among the rubble.

"Don't expect special treatment beyond this," Sportsmaster growls, poking Wally hard in the center of his chest, "Get that antidote to Artemis and we're even and Flash boy," Sportsmaster seems to pause, staring at Wally with narrowed eyes, "If I hear you are dating my daughter you will be hearing from me again. **_Real soon._**"

Wally stumbles backwards as Sportsmaster gives the Joker a last good kick to the head knocking the man unconscious. Harley shrieks angrily but the criminal simply clubs her aside with a massive punch when she tries to jump him, leaving her whimpering on the ground. Wally briefly muses at the thought of Crocks and their terrifying habit of kicking people between the eyes, before he watches stupefied as the masked man dashes backward through the doorway and disappearing into the night.

"Wally?" M'gann says, flying forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Wally croaks, glancing from Harley who is hovering around the fallen Joker snivelling and the the broken lollipop in M'gann's left hand. "Can we please go now? I'd really rather my friends not die while we're sitting here crying over a few cuts and bruises."

"I will call Batman for-" Kaldur says, gesturing to the two psychopaths lying among the remains of the gym, "M'gann and Wally, get to the bioship, _quickly_."

* * *

Okay so, Wally has to admit, M'gann was right to fuss over him on the way to the Watchtower. She had wanted to stop by Mount Justice for medical supplies to clean his cuts, which he'd had none of. They had to get to the Watchtower quickly, they were almost out of time as it was, but thankfully they'd had some Band Aids and peroxide on the Bioship, hidden under Artemis' seat. Wally had a sinking feeling that she used them to bandage her own cuts and bruises after missions and he'd never even noticed.

But anyways, M'gann had bandaged him until there were so many Band Aids along his neck and the right side of his face that his skin was hardly visible and it was a good thing too because when they pulled into the loading bay the first person to run out to greet them was Uncle Barry. Who fussed more than M'gann.

"Wallace Rudolph West, when your mother sees you neither of us are going to hear the end of it and-"

"UNCLE BARRY," Wally cuts in with a wave of his arms. He has shoved the broken lollipop into his Uncle's hands ordering, "Take this to the med bay, stat."

"Is this-" Barry begins to whisper but Wally simply nods and Barry is off in an ironic flash.

"Will they be -" M'gann wonders aloud, her hands clasped in front of her. She bites her lip apprehensively.

"Fine," Wally interjects, watching after his uncle's trail of light, "They'll be totally fine. I promise."

After waiting outside the med bay for four hours Wally is starting to get nervous. Maybe there wasn't enough for two? Maybe he's sitting there only to be told the gruesome news that only one of his friends is alive but he can't let himself think like that. That would be giving up. He looks up and down the corridor - waiting for a sign.

Superboy and Kaldur had arrived awhile ago and sat beside them silently, Superboy drawing little circles on M'gann's palms as she whispered something in Martian, some kind of prayer. Kaldur wasn't speaking but he was sitting with his head bowed, his hands pressed against his water bearers and Wally has a feeling he is praying as well.

Wally wants to pray, to someone, but that's the problem when you don't believe in anything outside the realm of science. There is no one to go to with problems and regrets. Fortunately for Wally, there is one thing he believes in. So he bows his head and prays to Fate. He's pretty sure he can hear Kent Nelson laughing.

* * *

"They're awake," Black Canary says and Wally looks up so quickly that his vision spins so he can't be sure if BC is crying or not.

"Can we-" M'gann says, shooting up from her seat and hovering a few foot above the ground.

"One at a time," Black Canary says, raising a hand as all four of them step forward at once.

And then M'gann is kind of crying, tears slipping past her cheeks, and Wally hears himself telling her she can go see Artemis first and she grabs him in a hug that squeezes that last breath out him before disappearing beyond the med bay doors. Superboy clamps a hand on his shoulder and tells him then that he can go see Robin and Wally nods and walks a little too quickly after M'gann and into the room at the end of the hall that BC gestures to with a flick of her hand. He doesn't get a glimpse inside Artemis' room, which is the next one down, but it can't be much different than Robin's.

Robin, who is sitting up in bed with a laptop, looks up at Wally with a wide grin as he enters.

"To what do I owe this honor, dude?" Rob says, closing the laptop and gesturing for Wally to sit in the chair by his bed.

"I- are you okay?" Wally asks, sitting numbly and staring at the faint bruises on Robin's pale skin.

"Peachy," Rob says, "How about you? I heard you had a run-in with the Joker."

"He was great, hey, we should switch villains more often. You take Captain Boomerang, I take the Joker?"

Robin laughs and Wally feels a bit better, more convinced that his friend is alright and not dying but he still can't unsee Robin foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the floor of the training room and his eyes harden at the very thought of his friend not sitting here in front of him, laughing.

"You are so not whelmed, dude," Robin says in a whisper, "Go see Artemis."

"Huh?" Wally says, looking up at Rob and the boy has a look on his face that is far more serious than any thirteen year old should wear, "I'm not-"

"Listen, I know you're concerned for me, because we're buds. I know that. You don't have to prove it or anything, I think the fact that you let the Joker take a knife to your face is more proof than I'll ever need. I also know that you have something you need to ask Artemis before something else gets in the way, like a nuclear bomb or something, knowing you two," Rob laughs, "So go on loverboy, enough with the denial it's getting old. Besides I don't want to sit here looking at your distraught face all night when I could be hacking in the Watchtower mainframe to get the Celebrity Hockey channel on my laptop."

"You sure you're okay?"

"GO," Robin says, jerking a finger at the far corner of the room, "or I'll have Batman eject you."

Wally turns hesitantly and for the first time notices Batman standing in the corner, completely covered by his cape. He's not even blinking. Wally gulps and nods as he stands from his chair and Batman nods slightly in return.

In the hallway he dashes straight into M'gann.

"Wally." She smiles and she's wiping tears from her eyes, her eyes glistening with relief. "She wants to see you."

"Really?" Wally asks hesitantly.

"Well, she said 'tell the boneheaded speedster to get his ass in here before I march into the hallway myself' but yeah, I think that means she wants to see you," M'gann says and she pushes Wally gently into the doorway before turning into Robin's room herself.

Wally stands in that doorway for about a minute and a half because Artemis is reclining on her cot with her eyes closed and a small smile forming on her lips and he just wants to live in this moment for awhile, reveling in the fact that she's alright.

"You gonna stand there all day, West?" Artemis says with her eyes closed and Wally can't even fathom how she knew he was there but it must have something to do with assassin parents and ninja like senses because he's stuttering, "yeah," and closing the door behind him as he rushes to sit next to her.

"It took you long enough," Artemis says, opening her eyes, and she's smiling a little still and even though her skin is pale and bruised and not its usual sheen of sandalwood he thinks she's beautiful, and he should probably tell her that before something else happens to put either of them in mortal danger.

"M'gann told me you got all scratched up facing the Joker, were you-" But Wally interrupts because he's full to the brim with emotion and exhaustion and he just needs to let it out.

"Okay wait I have to say this before you get buried alive again or poisoned or blown up or shot; gun or otherwise because I think it's safe to say you won't be going near any needles anytime soon -"

Artemis interrupts, "You're rambling."

"Right. Right. Okay," he looks around nervously, "So before any of the aforementioned horrors happen to you again - which by the way is statistically impossible but you have the worst luck like ever - I mean honestly who defies _statistics_?"

She deadpans, "The point Wally, before I slip into a coma again."

"Not funny," says Wally, "will you, and I mean you, Artemis Crock, go on a date with me before you quite possibly implode from not having your life threatened within the last three hours or I die for not asking."

"Could you be any lamer?" Artemis smirks.

"That isn't a no is it?" Wally presses eagerly leaning a little closer to the bed.

"It isn't a yes either," she points out twisting the sheets between her fingers and staring at her hands. "I mean. God, you and me. You asking me out...seems a little sudden."

"Not from my perspective," states Wally, leaning back on the legs of his chair, "To be fair it will technically be our second date. I just want to, you know, ensure you're still living when it happens."

"Dinner at my apartment doesn't count especially when it ends the way things usually do between us," she frowns flexing her fingers, "This isn't a good idea Wally. We tend to produce exothermic reactions whenever we get together."

"Babe, speaking my language is more of a turn on than a deterrent."

Artemis rolls her eyes brushing loose bangs away from her face as she attempts to hold back a smile. To the untrained observer the almost-smile would be indiscernible but Wally can see it in the way her eyes shine and in the slight quirk of her lips and the quiver of her shoulders.

"You're stupid. Incredibly so." She grins pulling at her left earlobe, idly fiddling with the earring hanging there.

"Stupid is as stupid does," Wally whispers, staring at her fingers before reaching forward and snatching the one hand that isn't fluttering across her bruised skin as if to determine if she's still all there.

She stares at their entwined hands and Wally himself is fascinated by their fingers as Artemis's dance against the inside of his palm instead of pushing him away as he'd half expected her to. _When did they reach this point? _He wonders vaguely. It's comfortable.

"You know," she begins slyly peeking at him from beneath dusty eyelashes, "You've been using my shampoo. I smell it. That's how I knew you were in the doorway."

Wally's face burns as he debates dropping her hand and running or just sitting put and allowing himself to suffer this rather pleasurable ordeal; because leaving means letting go of her hand and he's not quite ready to do that.

"Your shampoo?" says Wally airily, "Why would I be using that?"

"I have theories."

"_Theories_," emphasizes Wally leaning closer, grinning, "I think we should first focus on the question, why have you been smelling me?"

Artemis responds cool as a cucumber, "You started it," and Wally balks, pulling at his collar.

"You're not playing fair."

"I'm infirmed. What's your excuse?"

"I've been up for the last forty-eight hours trying to track down the antidote and race it here in order for you not to **die.**" As if to prove his point he thrusts his face impossibly close to hers and peels away the bandages that were painstakingly placed there by a distraught M'gann on the Bioship as she tried to cover up the damage, "See? Injured in order to save your sweet ass. Got it from the Joker himself."

"It's half healed," she says teasingly, but he can hear the concern underneath her humor. It really shouldn't make him smile. He can see her trace the crude cut with her eyes. It may not look impressive now but she can imagine it was quite deep and quite painful - Speedsters may heal fast but the pain isn't any worse.

"Does it hurt?" she asks carefully her digits tightening around his. "Does the Flash know?"

"Nah and yes. I wouldn't want to be Joker in that interrogation room." he shrugs but she spies some yellowing bruises peeking out of the collar of his uniform - there's a distinct hand print around his throat.

"Your neck."

"Yeah it appears to have become a running gag to throttle the mini-Speedster," he pulls his cowel up self-consciously, "But nothing I couldn't handle." Artemis frowns looking not very pleased with his answer.

"I've been told my dad was there," she says faintly before her voice strengthens, "Why?"

This brings a whole wave of unpleasant memories back because he basically knows he's going against the express wishes of a murderous, possibly insane, convict in asking out Artemis but, hey, what could Sporty do that was worse than tonight? "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," she responds seriously.

"He came to save you."

"You're right. I don't believe you." She turns her face away from his, her ponytail slapping him. "My dad. Save me. _Right. _I'd sooner believe Batman dressed up in Wonder Woman's costume." She pauses, however, milling it over and then says with barely concealed hope, "Really?"

"Yeah," says Wally sheepishly, "And he warned me not to date his daughter or he'd find me and do horrible things to me."

At first Artemis seems amused by this news clearly picturing the numerous ways her father could torture him, because she would know, and then it clicks and she sees her eyes narrow and glares at him. "Wally," she says in a scarily even voice, "What do you know?"

"Know about what!?" he tried to say indifferently but it came out as a cruel squeak.

"_Wallace." _The pleasantness that was her hand encasing his turns deadly as the fingers clamp around him and his joints let loose a painful groan at the pressure.

"Ease up! You're going to break my hand." The grip tightens even more. Wally is incredibly thankful Artemis is bed bound because he's pretty sure that his hand breaking would be the last thing on her list to do if she actually had control over all her faculties. "Okay! Okay! I know you're his daughter - alright the whole _team _knows you're his daughter." Artemis's grip slackens and her face goes deathly pale so quickly he's worried she's fainted. She just clams up eyes moving across his face almost pleadingly.

"How?" she finally musters before angrily, "HOW!"

"The team...well Sportsmaster kind of shouted it during the skirmish...and me."

"And you?" she questions. He's surprised she hasn't let go of his hand, then again it's her only available torture device as she digs her nails into his tender skin. "How did you find out? Because you're way too calm for someone who just found out. People, namely you, freak out when they find out."

Wally sighs focusing on the bed spread instead of her eyes because he never actually considered the consequences of finding that classified information on the server or how he was going to explain it when this situation arose.

"WALLY!"

"The server," he mumbles, "I saw it on the database server. Just so you know Batman is totally bias. Me, average? Pssh, as if."

"You spied on me."

"_Totally accidental. _There was an open door and a computer screen," he pushes his fingers against her hand, "I didn't mean to. Honest."

Artemis quirks an eyebrow but appears satisfied as a small smile melts onto her face. This is one of the things he likes about her - how easily she can forgive. Again she sniffs the air seemingly satisfied.

"So you were about to give me an explanation about why you're using my shampoo?"

"Which returns us to the main point. Yes, I used your shampoo because it has hypnotic proprieties that I'm working on cracking but I first have to build up an immunity to it. _Besides _I wanted to ask you out and not look like crap."

"Showers don't cure creep," Artemis groans smiling slyly, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Like the dead," Wally amends, "Okay poor choice of words."

Artemis sighs shaking his hand off, "If we're going to do this -" Wally's head perks up at the words because he took the hand-letting-go ploy as a bad sign, "We have to take it slow."

"I can do slow."

Artemis snorts, her fingers tracing the now puckered scars along the skin of his collarbone, "Not likely."

* * *

_Please review :3_


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